The Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) has reaffirmed its partnership with Ghana’s former Second Lady, Her Excellency Samira Bawumia, re-appointing her as a Global Champion in recognition of her unwavering commitment to clean cooking, women’s empowerment, and climate justice.
The re-appointment was announced during CCA’s Leadership Series in Washington, D.C., USA, by CEO Dymphna van der Lans.
Lady Bawumia has throughout her advocacy highlighted the urgent dangers of traditional cooking methods. Millions of African women and children suffer daily from toxic smoke emitted from open-fire cooking.
Speaking during the Leadership Series, she emphasized that: “This is not just an energy issue, it is a critical matter of health, gender equality, climate justice, and economic empowerment.”
Her work through the Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Projects (SEHP) and the African Women and Children Conference (AFRIWOCC) has placed clean cooking at the center of continental conversations on women’s rights, health, and sustainable development. These initiatives have amplified awareness while also delivering tangible interventions that improve lives across Africa.
The Clean Cooking Alliance, founded in 2010 with support from the United Nations Foundation, has been central to global efforts to combat household air pollution. Formerly known as the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, the non-profit works to promote clean cooking technologies in low- and middle-income countries. Household air pollution, which stems largely from unsafe cooking practices, is estimated to cause around four million deaths annually. CCA’s mission is to turn clean cooking into a mainstream global priority by funding research, setting standards, and building partnerships that scale solutions worldwide.
Accepting her renewed mandate, Lady Bawumia noted her gratitude and reaffirmed her determination to advance the movement. “I am honored by this renewed mandate as a Global Champion for CCA. What gives me hope is the visionary leadership of CCA and its unwavering mandate to make clean cooking a global priority,” she said.
Her message comes with a direct call to action for governments, development partners, and the private sector. She urged policymakers to integrate clean cooking into national strategies, donors to increase funding support, and businesses to back transformative, female-led innovations. Her appeal underscored that clean cooking is not a marginal concern but a core issue that touches on health, climate, and economic empowerment.
The stakes could not be higher. Clean cooking is directly linked to several global challenges:
- Health and gender equality: It reduces exposure to dangerous household smoke, lowers disease risks, and saves women and children from time-consuming and hazardous cooking practices.
- Climate action: It offers low-carbon solutions with significant impact, yet currently receives less than 1% of climate and energy financing worldwide.
- Economic empowerment: Through initiatives like SEHP and AFRIWOCC, Lady Bawumia has opened pathways for women to influence policy, innovate, and claim greater socio-economic agency.
Looking to the future, she reaffirmed her partnership with the Clean Cooking Alliance and her determination to push the agenda until universal access is achieved. “It has been a privilege to walk this journey with CCA over the past six years, and I look forward to continuing our work together until we’ve ensured a cleaner, healthier, more equitable future for all.”
CCA’s Leadership Series continues to spotlight global leaders and innovators advancing bold solutions toward universal access to clean cooking. The feature on Lady Bawumia, published on September 7, 2025, serves as both recognition of her leadership and a timely reminder of the urgent need for investment in clean cooking as a cornerstone for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals and long-term climate resilience.
