New plan to accelerate adoption of clean cooking energy

Dodoma. The government has unveiled a nationwide strategy designed to accelerate the adoption of clean cooking solutions, with the ambitious target of reaching 80 percent of Tanzanian households by 2034.

The National Clean Cooking Communications Strategy and Awareness Campaign, launched in Dodoma yesterday, is a central pillar of the broader National Clean Cooking Strategy 2024–2034.

It aims to raise public  s and shift behavioural norms around cooking practices, while creating long-term demand for cleaner, safer, and more sustainable energy alternatives.

Speaking at the launch event, which brought together more than 250 stakeholders from across sectors, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Dr Doto Biteko, emphasised that the campaign is as much about public mobilisation as it is about energy access.

“President Samia Suluhu Hassan has made clean cooking a national development priority. Without awareness, there can be no adoption,” said Dr Biteko.

“This strategy is a call to action, inviting every household, community and institution to embrace clean, modern energy solutions. It is a ten-year journey that begins now, and every ward and village is a target,” he said.

According to Dr Biteko, the strategy will roll out in phases. Initial efforts will focus on mass media messaging across radio, television and print, followed by community-level outreach, school-based education, and on-the-ground product demonstrations.

The campaign is designed to create an enabling environment in which knowledge translates into behaviour change, and behaviour change drives demand.

The strategy adopts a multi-channel approach to reach all corners of the country, including digital platforms such as social media, mobile apps and SMS, alongside direct engagement through roadshows, local events and partnerships with religious leaders, teachers, local influencers and community-based organisations.

Development partners backing the campaign include the European Union (EU), the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), and various civil society and private sector actors.

Head of natural resources unit at the EU, Mr Lamine Diallo, noted that “awareness is not a luxury; it is the foundation of transformation.”