International Women’s Day 2014 Statement by Kandeh K. Yumkella - Special Representative of the Secretary-General & CEO Sustainable Energy for All

The statement by Kandeh K. Yumkella highlights the critical link between energy poverty and the socio-economic wellbeing of women and children. It emphasizes that lack of electricity in healthcare settings contributes to high maternal mortality and that household air pollution from biomass and kerosene causes millions of premature deaths. The author advocates for universal access to modern energy, clean cooking solutions, and mechanical power to liberate women from domestic drudgery and enable their economic empowerment.

• Household air pollution resulting from the use of kerosene lamps and biomass as energy sources is linked to approximately 4 million premature deaths annually, primarily affecting women and children; this figure is nearly double the combined incidence of Malaria and HIV/AIDS.
• A lack of electricity in primary health care units is identified as a primary cause of high maternal mortality, as health workers are forced to rely on torchlights, candles, and kerosene lanterns, and cannot charge phones for emergency calls.
• Access to modern energy services, including clean cooking solutions like LPG and affordable stoves, reduces the time women and girls spend collecting fuel wood, which improves personal safety and allows girls to attend school.
• The provision of mechanical power for tasks such as grinding food grains, processing agricultural products, and pumping water improves the economic wellbeing of women by freeing them from repetitive manual labor for income-generating activities.
• The Sustainable Energy for All initiative aims to achieve three goals by 2030: universal access to modern energy services, doubling the global rate of energy efficiency improvement, and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

APA

Yumkella, K. K. (2014). International Women’s Day 2014 Statement by Kandeh K. Yumkella - Special Representative of the Secretary-General & CEO Sustainable Energy for All. Sustainable Energy for All. https://www.seforall.org/news/international-womens-day-2014-statement-by-kandeh-k-yumkella-special-representative-of-the

Chicago

Yumkella, Kandeh K. International Women’s Day 2014 Statement by Kandeh K. Yumkella - Special Representative of the Secretary-General & CEO Sustainable Energy for All. Sustainable Energy for All, 2014. https://www.seforall.org/news/international-womens-day-2014-statement-by-kandeh-k-yumkella-special-representative-of-the.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Yumkella |first1=Kandeh K. |title=International Women’s Day 2014 Statement by Kandeh K. Yumkella - Special Representative of the Secretary-General & CEO Sustainable Energy for All |publisher=Sustainable Energy for All |date=8 March 2014 |url=https://www.seforall.org/news/international-womens-day-2014-statement-by-kandeh-k-yumkella-special-representative-of-the |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{yumkella2014international, author = {Yumkella, Kandeh K.}, title = {{International Women’s Day 2014 Statement by Kandeh K. Yumkella - Special Representative of the Secretary-General \& CEO Sustainable Energy for All}}, publisher = {Sustainable Energy for All}, year = {2014}, month = mar, url = {https://www.seforall.org/news/international-womens-day-2014-statement-by-kandeh-k-yumkella-special-representative-of-the}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }