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Cornell Study links cooking fuels to infant mortality in India
The most significant impact was observed in infants under one month old, a critical age when their lungs are still developing and they are often in close proximity to their mothers, the primary home cooks.
Representative image / Image- Pixabay
A recent study conducted by Cornell University has uncovered a startling correlation between the use of unclean cooking fuels and infant mortality in India. According to the research, 27 out of every 1,000 infants and young children die due to exposure to these hazardous fuels.
India is home to 83 of the top 100 cities with the worst air pollution, as per the 2023 World Air Quality Report. These cities exhibit pollution levels ten times higher than the World Health Organization's (WHO) air quality guidelines. While outdoor air pollution is widely acknowledged, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) highlights that poor indoor air quality is even more deadly, given the significant amount of time people spend indoors.
The paper, titled “Cooking Fuel Choice and Child Mortality in India,” was published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.Using data from the nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey, collected over a span of 25 years (1992-2016), the researchers identified the extensive use of polluting fuels in households.
The most significant impact was observed in infants under one month old, a critical age when their lungs are still developing and they are often in close proximity to their mothers, the primary home cooks.
“This is the first paper out there that gives a robust causal estimate of the true cost of using these biomass fuels for households, in terms of the young lives lost,” said Arnab Basu, professor in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and the lead author of the study.
The study also uncovered a gender disparity in mortality rates. Young girls are more adversely affected than boys, not due to biological susceptibility but because of societal preferences. "In India, there is a strong son preference, leading to a potential neglect in seeking treatment for daughters," Basu explained.
According to the researchers, switching to cleaner fuels could significantly improve childhood health and address the gender bias in healthcare. The WHO estimates that about one-third of the global population still relies on biomass fuels (wood, animal dung, and crop waste) for cooking, contributing to approximately 3.2 million deaths annually.
Despite the evident health benefits, implementing change remains challenging. “A lot of focus is on outdoor air pollution and how crop waste is burned,” Basu noted. He suggests that governments could incentivize farmers to avoid burning crop waste by providing advance payments. However, addressing indoor pollution is equally crucial, considering factors like regional agricultural practices, household characteristics, and family dynamics.
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