Ethanol as a household fuel in Madagascar
Practical Action
Despite a number of challenges, allocation to groups, follow-up, and the rate of dropouts
was satisfactory.
Use of other stove types by the ethanol group compromised the HAP and exposure
reductions (which may have been even greater without this secondary stove use), it also
emphasises that – at the time of the project – the stove technology and arrangements for
obtaining fuel were not meeting all needs.
On average, the use of ethanol stoves reduced the amount of time a stove was alight in
each household by 2.5 hours.
In comparison with the control group, the ethanol stove led to substantial and highly
significant reductions in headaches, eye irritation and burns among women in Ambositra.
In Vatomandry, there were large and highly significant reductions in the women’s reported
headache and eye irritation for the charcoal, wood and ethanol intervention groups. The
ethanol group reported substantially less burns in women and the wood stove group
showed marginally significant reductions. Only the improved wood stove group showed
significant reductions in burns in children.
In Ambositra the most positive post-study assessments were seen for the ethanol group
with around two-thirds saying that the child's health was better, and 10% that it was
worse (compared with 11% and 26% respectively for the control group), with some
evidence of benefits in the charcoal intervention group.
In Vatomandry the ethanol group showed the clearest evidence of perceived benefits to
family health, with 61% saying the child's health was better and only 3% that it was
worse (compared with 0% and 6% respectively for the control group).
Figure 10: Average hours per day stoves were alight for different groups. Source: Practical Action
Consulting.
Additionally, the project has put forward two possible adoption scenarios and the potential health
benefits these will bring, based on the findings from HAP measurements:
Scenario 1: The rate of adoption required to meet Universal Clean Energy Access Goal as
supported by UN: Universal access to clean, modern household energy by 2030
Prevention of around 17% of total national deaths and DALY’s for child Acute
Lower Respiratory Infection (ALRI)
Prevention of around 16% of total national deaths and DALY’s for adult Chronic
Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Prevention of around 5% of total national deaths and DALY’s for adult Ischemic
Heart Disease
Scenario 2: 17% adoption at 10 years; based on ethanol price 35 cents/litre; 20-year
adoption period
Prevention of around 3% of total national deaths and DALY’s for child ALRI
Prevention of around 2.5% of total national deaths and DALY’s from adult COPD
Prevention of around 1% of total national deaths and DALY’s from adult IHD
6