Household fuel use and acute respiratory infections among younger children: an exposure assessment in Shebedino Wereda, Southern Ethiopia Biruck Desalegn 1 *, Hammed Suleiman 2 , Araya Asfaw 2 1) Department of Environmental Health, Hawassa University 2)Science Faculty, Addis Ababa University *P.O.BOX 246, Tel: 0911422660, Fax: 046-2-208755, Email: biruck471@yahoo.ca SUMMARY Background: the health impacts of exposure to indoor air pollution have yet to become a central focus of research, development aid and policy-making. Objective: To investigate the eect of household fuel use on acute respiratory infection in younger children at Shebedino Wereda. Study method: The study design was cross-sectional, which employed an exposure assessment approach, collecting detailed primary data on several household-level exposure indicators (fuel type, stove type, kitchen type, housing type, ventilation, etc.) through the administration of a questionnaire in 405 households. Data were collected during January to February 2006. Result: The response rate for the sampled households was 100%. ARI prevalence of the study area (21%) was found to be lower as compared to the national gure in 2000 (24%). The study approach appears to demonstrate a relatively consistent association between child handling practice while cooking and childhood ARI. Conclusion: The existing environmental and socioeconomic factor in the study area has a considerable potential to contribute for environmental threats to the health of children. An obvious implication is that educating the public about the adverse eects of cooking smoke on child health and on good child handling practice through community participation is essential. [Afr J Health Sci. 2011 18:3136] Introduction The connection between wood use, cooking and the epidemiology of respiratory and other illnesses is a topic of active current research. However, a consistent pattern linking energy, environment, and health has already become alarmingly clear [1]. 90 to 95 percent of domestic energy in SubSaharan Africa depends on these biomass fuels, most of it for cooking. In Ethiopia, these fuels are the major sources of energy consumption. For more than 90% of the Ethiopian population the only energy used for cooking, heating and lighting is obtained from biomass, in which 99% is derived from fuel wood, charcoal, crop residue and leaves, fuel wood occupying the leading position >  @ &RPEXVWLRQ RI WKHVH IXHOV LQ FRQ¿QHG RIWHQ unventilated indoor areas and at low thermodynamic HI¿FLHQF\ OHDGV WR KLJK FRQFHQWUDWLRQV RI VPRNH DQG other pollutants [4, 5]. The dependence on such polluting fuels is both a cause and a result of poverty, as poor households often do QRW KDYH WKH UHVRXUFHV WR REWDLQ FOHDQHU PRUH HI¿FLHQW fuels and appliances. Reliance on simple household fuels and appliances can compromise health and thus hold back economic development, creating a vicious cycle of poverty [6]. 7KLV SROOXWLRQ IURP VROLG IXHO XVH LV D VLJQL¿FDQW ULVN factor for acute respiratory infections, which accounts for a remarkable 7% of the global burden of disease [7] DQG LV PRVW ¿UPO\ DVVRFLDWHG LQ \RXQJHU FKLOGUHQ>@ Despite the magnitude of this growing problem, the health impacts of exposure to indoor air pollution have yet to become a central focus of research, development aid and policymaking [6]. 31 African Journal of Health Sciences Vol. 18, No. 1-2, January - June 2011