Women and children below five years are among the most affected due to poll
utants released during the burning of bio-fuels in traditional stoves. Whil
e there has been some attempt to reduce such exposure through the introduct
ion of appropriately designed stoves, a better solution would be to redesig
n the petroleum policy such that kerosene is easily available to people at
affordable prices. This would not only ease the pressure on forests and oth
er bio-fuel resources but also have a positive effect on the health of wome
n and children.