Prof. Thomas B. Johansson, director of the UNDP sustainable energy group, who participated in an interactive panel on energy at the conference today, called for a greater focus on energy as an instrument to reach international development goals for the LDCs and broader the Millennium Summit target of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by 2015. He also pointed to the Multifunctional Platform pioneered in Mali as a practical example of how access to energy can transform lives, especially for women, in poor countries. A simple diesel engine powers tools such as cereal mills, pumps, battery chargers and production equipment and can also generate electricity. The platforms are typically owned and managed by rural women. They are made of locally-available equipment and maintained by local people.
Experience shows that easing of the workload results in more and better meals for families.
Young girls, released from burdensome and unproductive tasks, are doing much better in school. Many issues have to be addressed simultaneously to widen access to energy in the LDCs, such as improving energy efficiency, increasing use of renewable energy and advanced technologies, and reforming power sectors and making markets work better. The World Energy Assessment shows that new policies can promote sustainable energy solutions to help reduce poverty and support human development. For further information, contact Christelle Chapoy , UNDP Communications Office.