Effects of biomass burning and indoor air pollution on woman and child health in rural Nepal

Large proportion of rural people in developing countries still uses solid biomass for cooking. Literatures reports health effects of indoor air pollution. But the estimates do not count the endogeneity bias arising from the effects of health conditions on fuel choice. This study estimates the effects of indoor air pollution on respiratory health for male, female and children after adjusting for endogenous health behaviors. The study is based on a survey of 600 rural households from Syangja and Chitwan districts of Nepal. We employ instrumental variable probit regressions to find the effects of interventions on chronic bronchitis, asthma and acute respiratory infections. The results show that in addition to age and gender, the use of improved stove and biogas significantly reduces respiratory health problems. In addition to these interventions, the problem of respiratory health is more severe among those of older age cohorts, particularly among those who are female. Hence, they require special attention from health workers and development partners who are interested in reducing the health effects of indoor air pollution. In addition, ICS and biogas have the added benefits of energy efficiency to the households and environmental benefits to the society.