A rapid assessment randomised-controlled trial of improved cookstoves in rural Ghana

This impact evaluation, by David I. Levine and Jason Burwen, uses a randomised controlled trial to quantify the impact of an improved wood cookstove on changes in fuel use, exposure to smoke and self-reported health in the upper west region of Ghana. Results show that the treatment group used less fuel wood than the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant. There were no detectable reductions in a household’s weekly time gathering wood or in exposure to carbon monoxide. Overall, the new stoves were not successful.