Women are vulnerable to prolonged smoke exposure from cooking using biomass (Photo: Jitendra Bajracharya)

Women as researchers as well as the vital subject

Household-level combustion accounts for a significant percentage of air pollution in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region. Sociocultural norms that dictate women’s household responsibilities place women at the frontline of smoke exposure, primarily from cooking indoors using solid biomass, thereby exacerbating physical vulnerabilities. Rapid increases in air pollution in the HKH have far-reaching and hazardous consequences on environmental and human health and the livelihoods of the poorest. ICIMOD has responded to this situation by generating highly technical air pollution-related data in a historically data-scare region. ICIMOD’s Atmosphere Initiative prioritizes women’s engagement in this critical process on both sides of the spectrum – as researchers as well as the vital subject – to produce unique knowledge pertinent to air pollution research in general and indoor air pollution and its impacts on women and children in particular. Relevant stakeholders can use this vital knowledge to develop mitigation actions that can impact the health of millions.

Indoor air pollution comes together as outdoor haze in villages, gradually affecting entire regions (Photo: Arnico Panday)

Generating evidence of air pollution’s impacts on health

• How does long-term proximity and exposure to indoor and outdoor smoke affect women and children? To address this important research question, ICIMOD has been focusing on generating quantifiable evidence since 2016 to better understand the health implications of indoor air pollution, that is, direct exposure to smoke during cooking and open field burning of crop residue.
• Along with studies around the impact of smoke on wider atmospheric systems, ICIMOD has conducted two fundamental studies that used real-time heart and lung function tests to assess health implications of indoor air pollution on cardiovascular and pulmonary systems in the mid-hills of Nepal.
• An ongoing study in the Nepal Terai compares the impacts of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fumes to smoke from fuelwood, while another one will present the impacts of exposure to smoke on the basis of blood pressure samples before, during, and after cooking. Collectively, the studies will present impacts on 2,000 women in the 18–40 years age group, depending on susceptibility based on years of exposure. Doctors from Kathmandu Medical College collecting health end-point measurements (Photo: Parth Mahapatra)Gendered perspectives in bridging the data gap in the HKH 

  To ensure the respondents of the indoor air pollution studies were at ease during the very frequent sample collection process and at their homes, the team mobilized nine women medical professionals (four doctors and five community nurses) and six students. This follows ICIMOD’s efforts in promoting women’s engagement in the highly technical air pollution taskforce, including training seven women from government partners in Nepal and Bhutan in instrument calibration, and the maintenance of air pollution observatories. The lead researcher of the study is a woman – a Phd candidate who won the “Best Paper” award at the International Conference on Public Health 2018 where she presented her research output titled “Cardiovascular Health Effects of Biomass Smoke in Rural Villages of Lumbini, Nepal.”

  Open agriculture burning is harmful for humans and the ecosystem: focus group discussions with women in the study households (Photo: ICIMOD)Women at the helm of putting air pollution research into use

  ICIMOD fosters the generation of young scientists and provides opportunities for women and men to produce highly technical data relevant to decision-making processes in the HKH. Young postgraduate or PhD students in the fields of atmospheric and cryospheric sciences are gradually establishing local expertise and responding to key research questions in broad areas of national and regional development.

  • The Atmosphere Initiative has served as a platform for young women to break away from prevalent career stereotypes and respond to key sociophysical conditions related to air pollution at a formative stage in their careers.
  • Since 2013, the Initiative has supported 45 young scientists, including 13 women, to develop expertise in air pollution and cryosphere-related issues as fundamental topics for future research. Altogether, they have published 27 peer-reviewed articles on a wide range of atmospheric and cryospheric issues with scientific and policy implications.
  • These young scientists are addressing the data gap in their countries, engaging in teaching and supervising students in their universities, and providing technical inputs to regional and global efforts.
  • In doing so, these young scientists provide vital gendered perspectives in generating evidence to support long-term plans, policies, and possible action in fields such as agriculture, industry, urban planning, water resources management, and disaster risk reduction.

Mona Sharma

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