🟢 Strong Evidence
The World Health Organization has sounded an urgent alarm about the health consequences of energy poverty: 655 million people globally lack access to electricity, while two billion people rely on polluting fuels and outdated cooking technologies that pose serious risks to respiratory health and well-being, according to WHO’s latest assessment released in June 2026.
Key takeaways
- 655 million people globally lack electricity access, creating barriers to essential health services including lighting, refrigeration of vaccines, and medical equipment operation
- Two billion people use polluting cooking fuels (biomass, coal, kerosene), exposing them to indoor air pollution linked to pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cardiovascular disease
- Energy poverty disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries, undermining progress toward universal health coverage and sustainable development goals
Global Energy Poverty: Two Interconnected Health Crises
Population affected by lack of electricity and reliance on polluting cooking fuels, 2026
Source: WHO, June 2026 | Georgian Medical Journal News
Electricity Access and Healthcare Delivery
The absence of reliable electricity undermines core functions of health systems in low-income regions. According to the WHO’s health and environment division, lack of electricity prevents refrigeration of vaccines, operation of diagnostic equipment, and reliable lighting in clinics and hospitals—forcing health workers to perform procedures in inadequate conditions and limiting service hours.
In sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, this energy deficit directly correlates with lower immunization coverage and delayed diagnosis of treatable conditions. Communities without grid electricity often rely on diesel generators or have no backup power, creating gaps in emergency care capacity.
Indoor Air Pollution: A Hidden Epidemic
The reliance of two billion people on polluting cooking fuels represents a more immediate health threat. According to the WHO’s air quality and health programme, indoor air pollution from biomass burning, coal, and kerosene stoves is responsible for approximately 3.8 million premature deaths annually—a burden comparable to malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS combined.
Women and children bear the disproportionate health burden: prolonged exposure to smoke from cooking fires increases risk of acute lower respiratory infections in children under five, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in adult women, and cardiovascular complications across all age groups. This exposure is classified as a major risk factor for disability and mortality in low-income countries.
Energy poverty is not merely an economic or development issue—it is a health crisis. The 655 million without electricity and the two billion using polluting cooking fuels face systemic barriers to preventive care, diagnosis, and treatment of non-communicable diseases.
— WHO Assessment, June 2026
Sustainable Development and Universal Health Coverage
The WHO’s framework for Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) explicitly identifies universal access to modern energy as a prerequisite for universal health coverage. Energy poverty directly blocks achievement of SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 3 targets.
Countries with the lowest electricity access rates—primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia—also report the highest rates of preventable maternal mortality, child pneumonia, and vaccine-preventable disease. This clustering underscores the interconnected nature of energy security and health security, positioning energy access as a critical health policy lever for middle-income and low-income nations.
The health policy agenda increasingly recognizes that renewable energy expansion, rural electrification programmes, and clean cooking initiatives must be integrated into national health strategies and financing frameworks to achieve meaningful progress on communicable and non-communicable disease reduction.
What this means
Frequently asked questions
How does lack of electricity specifically affect child health?
Without electricity, health clinics cannot refrigerate vaccines or maintain cold chains, reducing immunization coverage. Lack of lighting forces deliveries and emergencies to be managed in unsafe conditions. Additionally, households without electricity often use kerosene lamps for lighting, which releases toxic fumes linked to respiratory infections in children.
What is the health impact of cooking with biomass and coal?
Indoor air pollution from biomass burning and coal stoves exposes household members—especially women and children—to smoke levels 15–100 times higher than outdoor air quality standards. This chronic exposure causes acute respiratory infections in children, COPD in adults, and increased cardiovascular mortality, according to WHO epidemiological analyses.
Which regions face the greatest energy poverty?
Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South Asia account for the majority of the global population without electricity and reliant on polluting cooking fuels. Nigeria, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and India together represent over 40% of the global energy access deficit, according to recent WHO and World Bank assessments.
Addressing energy poverty requires coordinated investment in renewable energy infrastructure, clean cooking technologies, and grid expansion—alongside integration of energy access into health system financing and policy frameworks. The WHO emphasizes that energy security is health security, and progress on the sustainable development agenda depends on urgent action to bring electricity and clean cooking to the world’s most vulnerable populations.
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