The WHO is developing a Clean Household Energy Solutions Toolkit (CHEST) for planning household energy policies and programs at both national and local levels.
WHO recently hosted an expert stakeholder consultation on the Toolkit in Kathmandu, Nepal in December 2016. Experts from seven different Asian countries and from a range of development agencies, NGOs, research institutions participated. The consultation provided valuable feedback on the tools and resources currently under development and identified opportunities for piloting specific modules in various countries.
The toolkit is intended to help health sector professionals and other decision-makers implement the recommendations found in the WHO IAQ guidelines: household fuel combustion.
CHEST provides resources to guide the energy planning process, using evidence from WHO databases and a variety of training materials. The Toolkit also includes resources for:
- Stakeholder mapping and conducting needs assessments;
- assessing intervention options, developing and refining standards;
- performing monitoring and evaluation;
- empowering the health sector;
- and improving communications and raising public awareness.
The Nepal workshop introduced participants to each of these modules and solicited valuable feedback on how they can best be adapted to the needs of the health sector and other stakeholders in particular country settings.