Lesotho Families Burn Dung for Warmth

In Lesotho and across Africa, children suffer health consequences from the climate crisis despite contributing least to it. Many villages in the mountainous north of Lesotho lack electricity and rely on firewood—now scarce—and cow dung for cooking and heating. Burning dung fills homes with smoke, increasing the risk of pneumonia, asthma, and early death for children.

The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change has documented these health harms for a decade, linking them to heat stress, food insecurity, and overwhelmed health systems. Global emissions continue to rise, and some political discussions accept exceeding warming thresholds with promises of future technology.

To address this, the Lancet Countdown Africa Regional Centre launched, aiming to track climate’s health effects in Africa using locally-grounded data. They hope to support governments with relevant data and advocate for climate mitigation as a core public health intervention at the World Health Assembly. The center will assess implementation of the Global Action Plan on Climate Change and Health.