Prices,Products and Priorities: Meeting Refugees? Energy Needs in Burkina Faso and Kenya

Hague Conference on Private International Law, Moving Energy Initiative (MEI)

Download

Abstract: The low level of energy access in refugee camps is sorely felt by displaced people. Expensive and dirty technologies contribute to poverty,and hamper relief and development efforts. Moreover,the negative impacts of inadequate access to energy cause greatest harm to the most vulnerable. Modern technologies and private-sector approaches offer the chance to improve lives and reduce costs,but the humanitarian sector is not yet taking advantage of the opportunities available. A transformation is required for the benefits of innovative energy technologies and policies to be widely and deeply felt. This paper draws on primary research to present the energy access situation in the refugee camps of Goudoubo in Burkina Faso and Kakuma I in Kenya.1 It focuses on cooking,lighting and power in the home,and on energy for enterprises and camp facilities such as clinics,schools,water pumps and street lights.