Percentages of children aged 0−14 years living in homes using solid fuels for cooking

Data source
Multiple indicator cluster survey (2) for Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Tajikistan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Uzbekistan.
Demographic and health survey (3) for Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Republic of Moldova, Turkmenistan and Ukraine.
World health survey (4) for Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
Population data: EUROSTAT (11).

Description of data
Data are based on international surveys, censuses and national energy statistics.

Method of calculating the indicator
Percentage of the general population using solid fuels.
Average population by country and five-year age groups.
The indicator is computed as simple percentages: 100 × Csolid/Ctot, where Csolid is the number of children living in households using coal, wood or dung as the main source of cooking/heating fuel in a given age group, and Ctot is the total number of children in the same age group.

Geographical coverage
Data are available for 25 countries of the WHO European Region.

Period of coverage
One year (based on most recent available data).

Frequency of update
Depends on availability of new data.

Data quality
In recent years, reporting of the indicator has been improved by regular data collection through such international surveys as multiple indicator cluster survey (2), the demographic and health survey (3) and the world health survey (4), and disaggregation of household energy practices between urban and rural populations has begun (6). Nevertheless, to improve accuracy in estimating health and other impacts and to provide a better basis for designing interventions, limitations in the definition and reporting of the indicator must be overcome. At present, data are collected only on solid fuel used for cooking, compiled on a country-by-country basis from different sources. For most countries, this is done through various surveys and censuses. In other countries, data are obtained from models using parameters such as the proportion of people living in rural areas and the gross national income for the year corresponding to the data surveyed. Further efforts must continue to improve regular data collection through relevant international and national surveys, taking into account urban and rural differences and the use solid fuel for heating, and allowing estimation of progress in time. There is a need to promote epidemiological studies in developed countries to estimate the real use of solid fuels and, therefore, exposure to indoor air pollutants from the combustion of solid fuels.