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LIQUIFIED

PETROLEUMGAS FORHOSPITALVISITORS

Mangamma has traveled a long way from Karimnagar to Hyderabad tobe with her husband while he receives treatment at the reputed OsmaniaGeneral Hospital (OGH). The trip was expensive and she worries abouthow she will pay the medical bills, find enough money to pay for foodduring her stay, and cover the costs of the journey home. Mangamma ispleasantly surprised to discover a rasoi-ghar, a community pay-per-usekitchen within the hospital premises that uses liquefied petroleum gas(LPG), a clean-burning and efficient cooking fuel. During the course ofher husbands hospitalization, Mangamma takes advantage of the

kitchen, reducing her cooking expenses and freeing herself from thedrudgery and hazards of cooking in the open with inefficient fuels.

BREATHING EASY

According to the National Sample Survey Organisations (NSSO) reporton Household Consumption Expenditure in India: 2006-07, three-fourthsof households in rural India continue to depend on firewood and chips asthe main cooking fuel. The World Health Organization estimates thatexposure to indoor air pollution, mainly from cooking, causes about500,000 deaths and 500 million incidences of illness among women and

children in India each year.

2008Project Start Date:

S3IDFs effortsprovide accessto modern LPG

fuel to the poorvisitors at ahospital at

affordable costs

Project Location:

Hyderabad, India

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Now we haveno worries whenit rains; along

with stoves, pansare also

available and Imvery happyabout it

- Mangamma

of Karimnager

LPG is a denser and an intrinsically cleaner-burning fuel with very lowemissions of pollutants directly harmful to human health. Plus, it burnsmuch more efficiently than solid fuels. LPG stoves can be lit and turned offalmost instantly and fuel flow finely tuned to meet energy needs, therebyconserving fuel.

PRO-POOR INTERVENTION

The OGH is a 2000-bed government hospital with an average of 250inpatients and 1000 outpatients every day. The hospital provides thepatients with food but the visitors and family have to rely on the hospitalcanteen. With a meal in the hospital canteen costing Rs. 32, a snack forRs. 10 and tea/coffee for Rs. 4, food becomes prohibitively expensive forthe poor.

S3IDF convinced the hospital authorities to sanction a rasoi-ghar on the

premises. The kitchen and facilities were provided by Vimala Sankar Trustand S3IDF. HPCL provided the LPG connections and 8 burners. With anoperating kitchen (inclusive of water, pressure cookers and utensils) attheir disposal and a charge of just Rs.3 per hour (and reduced amountsfor lesser use), the women now can reduce their food expenses. The rasoi-ghar has about 70-90 users per day and uses requires about 10 LPG refillsevery month.

More of such community kitchens are in the pipeline such as the one inGunagal village near Hyderabad, which will not only cater to the Healthand Nutrition center but also for use by the villagers.

Such Public-Private Partnerships can make a big difference for the manyMangammas who, without pro-poor interventions, would be furtherdisadvantaged through current systems.