Energy poverty in the Lao PDR and its impacts on education and health

Oum, Sothea

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2019.05.030

Cited by 166 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Most recent scholarly that view energy poverty from a multidimensional perspective, also look at its effect on numerous development indicators such as health, poverty, education and the environment. Among these indicators, the relevant and forthright impact of energy poverty on health has fueled several recent studies-particularly in developing economies [6,11]. Despite this growing interest, little is known of the effect of energy poverty from a multidimensional framework on mental health, particularly in SSA.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multidimensional Energy Poverty and Mental Health: Micro-Level Evidence from Ghana

Lin

Okyere

2020

IJERPH

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Regardless of growing interest and awareness of the effect of energy poverty on mental health, studies on this linkage have mainly relied on unidimensional measures of energy poverty with much concentration on advanced economies. Employing a two-wave socioeconomic survey, we analyzed the impact of multidimensional energy poverty on mental health in Ghana. We found energy poverty to heighten the chances of being mentally unhealthy. Using prices of liquefied petroleum gas and electricity as instruments for multidimensional energy poverty, we found that a rise in energy deprivation is associated with a 0.562-, 1.494- and 1.867-fold increase in the odds of being mildly, moderately and severely depressed, respectively. Among the indicators of multidimensional energy poverty, a deprivation in household appliance ownership (refrigerator ownership), recorded the highest impact on the depression levels of household heads. We concluded by urging policymakers to adopt a holistic approach in solving issues of energy poverty where simultaneous attention is given to all the dimensions of energy poverty since they collectively have detrimental effects on mental health, especially in a developing country setting.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multidimensional Energy Poverty and Mental Health: Micro-Level Evidence from Ghana

Lin

Okyere

2020

IJERPH

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“…The last mile energy poor are geographically located in remote and difficult-to-reach areas without access to technology and essential infrastructure services. They are often limited in productive capacity, are landless, economically poor, and less literate [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] . Energy poverty undermines educational enrollment, health, information attainability, and access to water, sanitation, and hygiene services [16] .…”

Section: Energy Access Resilient Livelihood and Pandemic Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are often limited in productive capacity, are landless, economically poor, and less literate [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] . Energy poverty undermines educational enrollment, health, information attainability, and access to water, sanitation, and hygiene services [16] . This leads to a situation that the last mile energy poor fall short of overcoming structural inequalities underlying poverty and often live below $1.90 per day [17] .…”

Section: Energy Access Resilient Livelihood and Pandemic Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chiou and Tucker [23] further report that households may remain at home if there is access to (high-speed) internet, and this increases the chances of compliance with social distancing directives. Another co-benefit of access to modern forms of energy is a reduction of household’s exposure to indoor air pollution and thereby mitigating the risk of respiratory infections, lung cancer, and other associated diseases [9] , [16] , [28] . A reduction in co-morbidity risks further enables a better immune response against COVID-19.…”

Section: Energy Access Resilient Livelihood and Pandemic Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Energy access and pandemic-resilient livelihoods: The role of solar energy safety nets

Zaman

Vliet

Posch

2021

Energy Research & Social Science

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Lack of energy access undermines the socio-economic conditions of households, reducing their resilience, particularly in the face of disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of millions of poor rural households, who live in remote and difficult-to-reach areas, are still without access to energy. Solar energy safety nets, in the form of targeted social assistance programs and off-grid technological solutions, do not only advance energy access but also develop capacities of households to prepare for, respond to, and recover from specific threats like pandemics. We discuss ongoing solar energy safety net programs in the largest off-grid solar markets of Bangladesh, India, Kenya, and Nigeria, and how such programs are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that solar energy safety net programs should be maintained and updated to emphasize their potential for building pandemic-resilient livelihoods. These programs can be supported with efforts to build local value chains and economies based on clean electricity. Well-designed solar energy safety net policies generate multiple co-benefits, including the resilience of households to pandemics.

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“…In the health sector, access to energy is critical for delivering and improving healthcare services and lifesaving interventions [18]. Studies have shown that sustainable development of communities is affected by the well-being of its inhabitants which are often predetermined by the type of energy used [19] and the availability of electrified health facilities [20]. For example, in the studies of Hernández and Siegel [21] and Zhang et al [22], it has been determined that energy poverty and insecurity has negative impact on people's health and community development [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electricity Access, Community Healthcare Service Delivery, and Rural Development Nexus: Analysis of 3 Solar Electrified CHPS in Off-Grid Communities in Ghana

et al. 2020

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Over 600 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity. Modern healthcare services, including vaccine refrigeration, which require electricity are therefore lacking in such energy-deprived communities. In this work, analysis has been conducted on how electricity access can help improve healthcare service delivery and rural development, with a case study on 3 different off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in community-based health planning and services (CHPS) in Ghana. Analysis from this study showed that for the 3.0 kWp solar PV systems installed at the various sites, the in-house electricity consumptions are between 4.30 and 7.58 kWh per day. It was found out that excess electricity generation of 148–304 kWh per month is available and can be used to provide other economic services including phone charging, torchlight battery charging, and small-sized cold storage services to generate income for the maintenance of the systems, which is critical for sustainability of solar PV installations in rural poor communities. The study results also showed that electrified health facilities which are able to provide basic healthcare services have potential impact on community health outcomes and rural development. Assessment conducted at the CHPS compounds revealed that, generally, there is improvement in healthcare service delivery resulting in time savings of 15-43 hours per month for the inhabitants which can potentially be used for productive work. The time savings were more significant in females and children than in males. In many rural agro-based communities in developing countries, female and children are usually the workforce engaged in various farming activities. This paper concludes that access to electricity in CHPS compounds helps to improve community health outcomes and increases time availability for women to engage in productive work that can potentially result in significant socioeconomic activities and rural development.

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Energy poverty in the Lao PDR and its impacts on education and health

Cited by 166 publications

References 3 publications

Multidimensional Energy Poverty and Mental Health: Micro-Level Evidence from Ghana

Multidimensional Energy Poverty and Mental Health: Micro-Level Evidence from Ghana

Energy access and pandemic-resilient livelihoods: The role of solar energy safety nets

Electricity Access, Community Healthcare Service Delivery, and Rural Development Nexus: Analysis of 3 Solar Electrified CHPS in Off-Grid Communities in Ghana

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