STAKEHOLDERS CONVENE TO ADVANCE NATIONAL DATA SYSTEM IN KENYA

Stakeholders from across Kenya’s clean cooking ecosystem convened at PrideInn Azure for a Knowledge Management Workshop with an aim of developing a National Clean Cooking Data System. The workshop was hosted by GAMOS East Africa, Clean Cooking Association of Kenya and SNV, in partnership with the Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum and UK PACT, hosted at the British High Commission.

The workshop brought together a diverse group of participants, including county government officials from Departments of Energy, County Assembly Energy Committees, ICT and Communication as well as Social and Cultural departments.

The discussions centered on the design, institutionalization and governance of a National Clean Cooking Data System, aligned with the Ministry’s Knowledge Management Strategy. A key highlight was the recognition of Taita Taveta, Meru and Kakamega counties as pioneer devolved units that will pilot national data aggregation, building on their participation in the Accelerating County Clean Cooking Transition (A2CT) Project funded by UK PACT.

The findings revealed that residents of Kakamega county heavily rely on traditional cooking fuels like firewood which remains the dominant primary fuel for households for catering outlets and learning institutions.

The workshop identified challenges hindering the transition to clean cooking solutions among them high upfront costs of LPG equipment, unreliable electricity supply, strong cultural preferences for traditional fuels and limited awareness of clean cooking alternatives.

Present were representatives from the Council of Governors (CoG) Energy Committee and the State Department of Energy.