Nigeria's Capital Says LPG Improves Household Air Quality

Nigeria's capital says a household air quality study conducted under Project Breathe Clean Air Abuja has found that switching to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) reduced harmful indoor air pollution, providing local evidence to support future clean cooking, clean energy and public health policies.

The findings were presented on Thursday at the project's closing ceremony in Bwari after the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), with support from IHS Nigeria, distributed 10,000 LPG cylinders and refill vouchers to households across 18 communities in the FCT's six Area Councils.

Project Breathe Clean Air Abuja began in November 2025 after health officials linked the use of firewood, charcoal and kerosene for cooking with respiratory tract infections among women and respiratory allergies in children. The programme aimed to encourage households to switch to cleaner cooking fuel while improving public understanding of safe gas use.

Beyond providing cooking gas cylinders, officials carried out awareness visits to community leaders and monitored selected households to measure the effect of the fuel change on indoor air quality. The exercise formed part of efforts to determine whether the project was achieving its health goals.

The monitoring exercise focused on homes in the Kurudu and Pyakasa communities of the Abuja Municipal Area Council. Handheld air quality sensors measured fine particulate matter before families changed from biomass fuels to LPG and after they started using gas for cooking.

Monitoring recorded cleaner indoor air

The Mandate Secretary of the FCT Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, said the first assessment found that homes using firewood and charcoal recorded PM2.5 levels above the limit recommended by the World Health Organisation.

She said later measurements showed better indoor air quality after households adopted LPG for cooking.

Fasawe said the results confirmed that clean cooking energy reduces exposure to harmful pollutants, improves respiratory health and lowers the risk of chronic diseases.

She explained that the findings would help shape future decisions on clean energy, air quality management and public health within the FCT.

Fasawe also announced that two outdoor air quality monitoring sensors had been obtained for installation in the territory to provide real-time environmental data for health planning.

Health experts back prevention efforts

The Minister of State for the FCT, Mariya Mahmud, represented by Maijida Kuku, said the project was introduced to reduce illnesses linked to indoor air pollution through the use of cleaner cooking energy.

She said women and children are the people most affected by smoke from firewood, charcoal and kerosene. She noted that wider use of LPG would improve public health, protect the environment and support efforts to reduce the effects of climate change.

The Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of IHS Nigeria Limited, Mohamed Darwish, represented by Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Services Officer Dapo Otunla, said the project matched the company's environmental and community development goals.

He said moving households away from biomass fuels would help improve air quality, reduce carbon emissions and lessen pressure on forests. He also said the programme improves daily life by reducing exposure to indoor air pollution, particularly among women and children.

Consultant Clinical and Radiation Oncologist at the National Hospital Abuja, Ayuba Usman, described the project as an intervention that could reduce cases of lung cancer and other respiratory diseases. She urged governments, development partners and private organisations to support similar programmes, noting that preventing disease costs less than treating it.

The initiative also reached schools, where pupils and students received educational materials promoting environmental awareness and healthy living. Pregnant women were provided baby care kits to support maternal and child health.

Representatives of the Bwari and Abuja Municipal Area Council chairmen, the Head of Service of the FCTA, the Director-General of the Maryam Babangida Women Development Centre, the Area Commander, the Etsu Bwari and other government, corporate and traditional leaders attended the closing ceremony, where officials said the monitoring results would guide future action on cleaner household energy in the FCT.