James Emejo in Abuja
Mente Foundation has launched its first clean cooking initiative, Project Green Flame, kicking off what it described as a long-term mission to tackle one of Africa’s deadliest but least visible public health crises by replacing polluting cooking methods with cleaner alternatives.
The initiative, which commenced at Mother Theresa Children’s Home in Abuja, involved the installation of clean cookstoves and the provision of fuel to power them, with the foundation saying the project is designed to generate practical evidence that will support the expansion of clean cooking solutions across Nigeria and eventually the African continent.
In a statement, Founder of Mente Energy and Chairman of Mente Foundation, Tolu Osekita, described cooking smoke as one of Africa’s “great silent killers” and said the organisation was determined to confront the challenge through practical interventions.
He said, “Nearly a billion people across Africa still cook in ways that quietly damage their health, their finances and their environment. Cooking smoke is one of the great silent killers of our time and it falls hardest on women and children.
“We are starting in Nigeria, in one children’s home, because real change begins somewhere real and measurable, but our ambition is Pan-African. Project Green Flame is the first step of many.”
Director of Mente Foundation, Fisayo Balogun, said the organisation deliberately chose to begin with an institution caring for vulnerable children where the impact of cleaner cooking could be clearly demonstrated.
According to him, the goal is to prove a model that can be replicated across similar institutions nationwide and beyond.
Medical doctor at the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE), Dr. Kingdom Perelade, urged greater advocacy for cleaner household energy, warning that although charcoal and firewood currently sustain millions of Nigerians, they also contribute significantly to future disease burdens.
He said, “Feeding is an essential component of living; it is a bit ironic that in trying to live, we pay with our lives later on. We must all advocate for cleaner energy.”
Managing Director of Mother Theresa Children’s Home, Catherine Emeagwali, welcomed the intervention, describing it as timely support that would improve the health, wellbeing and sustainability of the home.
She thanked the foundation for selecting the facility as the launch site, saying the project would make daily life healthier for both staff and the children under its care.
The foundation said although the project starts on a modest scale, its ambition is much broader – building local capacity and demonstrating what works before replicating the model in other institutions and communities.
It noted that nearly one billion Africans still rely on firewood, charcoal and open fires for cooking, exposing millions of households to harmful smoke that poses severe health, environmental and economic consequences.
According to the foundation, household air pollution is associated with nearly three million deaths globally every year, including more than 300,000 children under the age of five, while prolonged exposure contributes to pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, stroke and lung cancer.
It stressed that women and children bear the greatest burden because they spend the most time around traditional cooking fires.
Beyond the health implications, the foundation said dependence on dirty cooking fuels accelerates deforestation and imposes huge financial costs on households and institutions, noting that Nigeria loses well over one billion dollars annually to inefficient cooking practices.
To ensure the intervention delivers measurable results, Mente Foundation said it will monitor key indicators including improvements in indoor air quality, fuel consumption, cost savings and the durability of the cookstoves under everyday conditions.
It explained that the evidence generated from the pilot would determine how future interventions are designed and expanded.
The foundation said Mother Theresa Children’s Home was selected because vulnerable children are among those most exposed to the dangers of cooking smoke, while any savings on fuel could be redirected towards their welfare.
It added that clean cooking presents one of Africa’s most achievable development opportunities, citing international estimates that widespread adoption could prevent millions of premature deaths, restore valuable time to women and girls, protect forests and generate hundreds of thousands of jobs across fuel supply, servicing, retail and local manufacturing.
Speaking at the launch,
Mente Foundation, the non-profit arm of Mente Energy Limited, said the initiative aligns with Nigeria’s National Clean Cooking Policy and reflects growing efforts to translate policy commitments into practical interventions capable of improving lives while supporting environmental sustainability and economic development.