One of the country´s nongovernmental organisations, Renew’N’able, has said Malawi needs to do a lot to address the problem of energy poverty. Renew’N’able Advocacy Officer, Kenneth Mtago, was speaking in Blantyre on Tuesday on the sidelines of a two-day training workshop for civil society players in the energy sector. Mtago described energy poverty as the lack of access to modern energy services. He said such services are defined as household access to electricity and clean cooking facilities such as fuels and stoves that do not cause air pollution in houses. He said with grid electricity connectivity at 11 percent, many Malawians are struggling to have access to energy. Mtago said the problem is worse in the rural areas where only two percent of the population has access to grid electricity. Many Malawian households, according to Mtago, are getting their energy sources from batteries, elephant grass, candles and paraffin.
He said energy poverty has affected many sections of the society, including health service delivery and education. “Because of energy poverty, many people are failing to access essential processes in hospitals such as operations. Pregnant women are being sent back to bring candles because the clinics do not have electricity. Bright students are failing to study at night because there is no light. The consequences are far reaching,” Mtago said. He said to mitigate the impacts of energy poverty, his institution is promoting the use of renewable energy sources such as solar energy. According to the Energy Poverty Action initiative of the World Economic Forum, “Access to enery is fundamental to improving quality of life and is a key imperative for economic development.”