The WHO Clean Household Energy Solutions Toolkit (CHEST) provides tools that countries and programmes can use to develop policy action plans for expanding clean household energy access and use.
CHEST enables policy-makers to design programmes that will increase access to clean and safe household energy, ensuring that these deliver genuine and substantial health gains. CHEST facilitates the design of policies that promote the adoption of clean household energy at local, programmatic, or national levels.
CHEST includes six modules that provide resources for mapping key stakeholders; conducting a situational assessment; identifying technological and policy intervention options; setting standards; performing monitoring and evaluation; engaging the health community; and improving communications and raising awareness.
Some of the specific tools included in these modules are models for estimating emissions, health impacts and cost-effectiveness of household energy interventions; survey questions to track household energy use; databases with information on the fuels and technologies used in homes and their health impacts; training materials; and communication strategies.
The Clean Household Energy Solutions Toolkit (CHEST) is designed to promote clean and safe interventions in the home. CHEST provides the tools for countries and programs to create or evaluate policies that expand clean household energy access and use. CHEST is an analytical framework that was created based on country needs and expert input. It contains tools to assess the current state of household energy use, air pollution and health impacts and provides guidance based on this information to facilitate the design of policies that promote the adoption of clean household energy.
Why have a Clean Household Energy Solutions Toolkit (CHEST)?
- For over 3 billion people who rely on polluting fuels and technologies to meet their daily cooking needs, clean household energy solutions are necessary to protect public health.
- Investments in household energy solutions should be made based on understanding the country-specific options available and the actual health risks.
- Since clean household energy options and health risks are dependent upon the local context, CHEST offers flexible tools and approaches to assist decision-makers in different settings with development of strategies, programmes and policies that support the adoption of clean home energy.
- The CHEST manual and associated tools provide step-by-step guidance for mapping out current household energy use, related health impacts, and key stakeholders and uses an evidence-based approach to select technological and policy solutions.