What would you do if the only way you had available to cook food was by firewood or with charcoal made from wood? It would make cooking quite a bit more difficult on a daily basis. Let’s take that a step further. What would you do if it became a law that the charcoal and wood you use to cook now became illegal? Cooking would no longer be just difficult; it would be almost impossible. That is exactly what has been happening in Chad, Africa.
https://phys.org/news/2013-01-cooking-air-africa-pollution-meningitis.html
The law has been in place now for some time, but recently it is being enforced to the point of causing great suffering among the people of Chad. The Chadian government solution to the increasing desertification of Chad is to tell the population that they now must use bottles of butane for cooking. While this might sound like a great solution, most Chadians have no idea how to safely use butane, and there is not enough available for even a small portion of the population.
Just how bad has it become? We recently spoke with a Chadian friend who let us know that, because of the scarcity of butane, they have been forced to cook using cow dung. While the Chadian government has good intentions, the chosen solution to the desertification problem has only increased the suffering of the people in what is still considered one of the poorest countries in the world.
If you would like to read more about the current situation, check out the following links: http://africazine.com/tchad-ndjamena-frappee-par-une-penurie-de-gaz-butane/
https://www.journalducameroun.com/tchad-ndjamena-frappee-par-une-penurie-de-gaz-butane/