16 December 2009: The World Food Programme (WFP) has launched a pilot programme in Sudan and Uganda to provide fuel-efficient stoves to approximately 150,000 women, to reduce the risk of violence that women face when collecting firewood as well as to protect women’s health, the local environment and reduce carbon emissions.
The Safe Access to Firewood and Alternative Energy in Humanitarian Settings (SAFE) stoves will eventually be implemented in 36 countries and will reach up to 6 million refugees, internally displaced persons and returnees. The project will be implemented in cooperation with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Women’s Refugee Commission, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).[UN Press Release]