Chad’s Energy Crisis: Feminist Electrification Solutions

By Darius Spearman (africanelements)

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Energy Access in Chad

Chad faces significant challenges in providing its people with electricity. Currently, only about 10% of the population has access to electricity (ipsnews.net). This figure is even lower in rural areas, where less than 2% of people are connected to the grid (ipsnews.net). This stark difference between urban and rural areas means that a vast number of people in the countryside are left without reliable power, impacting their daily lives, education, and economic opportunities (borgenproject.org). In addition, Chad's per capita electricity consumption is extremely low, standing at only 18% of the global average (ipsnews.net). This indicates a severe lack of modern energy services, which hinders industrial growth, household activities, and overall quality of life (borgenproject.org).

Electricity Access in Chad

10%

Population Connected to Electricity

This visualization shows the low percentage of Chad's population with electricity access. Source: ipsnews.net

The reliance on traditional energy sources, such as biomass and charcoal, is widespread across Chad, especially for cooking and lighting (borgenproject.org). This dependence has serious health and environmental consequences. For instance, nearly all rural households use wood for cooking, leading to widespread deforestation and indoor air pollution (ipsnews.net). Indoor air pollution is a major contributor to respiratory diseases, disproportionately affecting women and children who spend more time indoors and are often responsible for collecting these biomass materials (borgenproject.org).

Population Growth and Its Impact

Chad is experiencing one of the fastest population growth rates in the world. Its current population of 21 million people is projected to more than triple by the end of the century (ipsnews.net). This rapid growth is largely driven by high fertility rates and declining mortality rates (unfpa.org). The total fertility rate (TFR) in Chad is notably high, with some estimates at 5.14 births per woman (ipsnews.net) and others as high as 6.4 children per woman (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). These differing figures can be attributed to variations in data collection periods, methodologies, or specific populations surveyed, as TFR can fluctuate annually (unfpa.org).

This rapid population expansion places immense pressure on Chad's already limited resources and infrastructure. It accelerates urban sprawl and drives deforestation, particularly for charcoal production, which is a primary energy source for many households (ipsnews.net). A larger population naturally requires more energy, making it challenging to expand grid infrastructure and meet growing demands (visualizingenergy.org). While population growth and energy use do not always increase at the same rate, addressing the energy needs of a growing population while simultaneously working to control climate change and ensure equitable access is a critical challenge for Chad's sustainable development (visualizingenergy.org).

Gender Inequality and Fertility

Gender inequality significantly contributes to Chad's high fertility rates and hinders overall development. Education levels for girls are alarmingly low, with only 38% completing primary school (ipsnews.net). Furthermore, child marriage is prevalent, with 61% of girls married by age 18, often with limited education and few economic prospects (ipsnews.net). These factors restrict women's autonomy and their ability to make decisions about their own lives, including reproductive choices (unfpa.org).

Chad's Total Fertility Rates

5.14
Births per woman (IPS News)

6.4
Children per woman (PubMed)

This visualization highlights the differing total fertility rates reported for Chad. Source: ipsnews.net and pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The relationship between women's autonomy and fertility is complex and varies across different socio-cultural groups. In communities with strong gender inequalities, increased women's autonomy can sometimes be linked to higher desired fertility. This is often due to factors like high child mortality rates, where couples may choose to have more children to compensate for potential losses (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). Conversely, in groups with less gender inequality, greater women's autonomy is often associated with lower actual fertility. This can be influenced by factors such as later marriage, union dissolution, and increased use of modern contraception (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). The Republic of Chad also faces one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, further highlighting the urgent need for improved healthcare and women's empowerment (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).

Feminist Electrification: A Holistic Approach

"Feminist electrification" offers a comprehensive solution to Chad's interconnected challenges of energy poverty, gender inequality, and rapid population growth. This approach goes beyond simply providing electricity; it explicitly designs energy investments to empower women as economic actors and consumers (ipsnews.net). It recognizes that women often manage domestic energy needs but are frequently excluded from energy decision-making processes (ipsnews.net). By including women in energy planning, their unique needs and perspectives can be addressed, leading to more effective and equitable solutions (borgenproject.org).

Girls' Education and Marriage in Chad

38%
of girls complete primary school.

61%
of girls are married by age 18.

This visualization illustrates key statistics on girls' education and child marriage in Chad. Source: ipsnews.net

This holistic strategy involves several key components. It advocates for integrating family planning services into energy rollout programs (ipsnews.net). Furthermore, it emphasizes investing in women's education, providing vocational training in areas like solar installation and electric stove sales and maintenance, and fostering their leadership development (ipsnews.net). Empowering women through such initiatives can create jobs, foster self-determination, and generally lead to lower fertility rates (ipsnews.net). This approach also aims to ensure that clean energy solutions reach households, while simultaneously creating economic opportunities for women (borgenproject.org).

Chad's National Energy Compact

Chad has developed a National Energy Compact, a strategic document outlining its plans for energy sector development. This Compact aims to significantly increase electricity access from 11% to 90% by 2030, achieve 46% access to clean cooking solutions, boost renewables to 30% of total electricity generation, and add 866 MW of new capacity (ipsnews.net). It also seeks to mobilize $650.3 million in investments, with about one-third from the private sector (ipsnews.net). While the Compact addresses crucial aspects like infrastructure development, private sector engagement, and regulatory reform, it notably overlooks the critical human dimensions of energy, particularly its intersection with gender equality and population growth (ipsnews.net).

The absence of a focus on gender and population dynamics is a significant oversight. For example, Chad's high fertility rates lead to larger household sizes, which in turn increase the demand for energy for cooking, lighting, and other activities (ipsnews.net). Despite women managing most domestic energy needs, they are generally excluded from energy decision-making processes (ipsnews.net). This exclusion means that energy solutions may not be tailored to the actual needs and realities of the primary energy users. To achieve its ambitious goals, Chad's Energy Compact needs to integrate gender and demographic considerations, ensuring that energy access benefits all segments of the population equitably (borgenproject.org).

The Need for Clean Cooking Solutions

The widespread reliance on wood for cooking in Chad's rural households has severe health and environmental consequences. This practice not only contributes to deforestation but also exposes families to high levels of indoor air pollution, which is a major cause of respiratory diseases (ipsnews.net). Women and children are particularly vulnerable to these health risks because they spend more time indoors and are often responsible for collecting biomass materials (borgenproject.org).

Clean cooking solutions offer a vital alternative to these traditional methods. These solutions include technologies and fuels that significantly reduce harmful indoor air pollution and improve energy efficiency. Examples include improved biomass cookstoves, which burn fuel more efficiently and produce less smoke, as well as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stoves, electric cookstoves, biogas systems, and solar cookers (borgenproject.org). Implementing these alternatives can mitigate health risks, reduce deforestation, and lessen the time burden associated with fuel collection, but only if women can access, afford, and trust them (ipsnews.net).

Integrating Family Planning and Energy Planning

Integrating family planning into energy planning is crucial for Chad's sustainable development. This means recognizing that population dynamics directly influence energy demand and that access to energy can impact reproductive health outcomes (nature.com). For instance, understanding population growth projections, which are influenced by family planning, helps in accurately forecasting future energy needs and planning infrastructure development (ipsnews.net). Furthermore, reliable electricity is essential for health facilities to provide family planning services, store contraceptives, and power medical equipment (ipsnews.net).

Access to energy, such as for lighting, communication, and productive uses, can empower women, enabling them to pursue education and economic activities. This empowerment, in turn, can influence their reproductive choices and family size (ipsnews.net). Slower, more sustainable population growth can also reduce pressure on natural resources used for energy, like wood for fuel, contributing to environmental protection (visualizingenergy.org). This integration is critical because it fosters a holistic approach, addressing interconnected challenges of poverty, health, gender equality, and environmental degradation simultaneously, leading to more effective and equitable outcomes (unfpa.org).

Challenges and the Path Forward

Implementing initiatives like feminist electrification and integrated family planning in Chad faces significant challenges. These include ensuring sustained government commitment and effective governance structures to prioritize and execute these complex, cross-sectoral policies (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). Securing adequate financial resources, both domestic and international, for infrastructure development, program implementation, and capacity building is also crucial (unfpa.org). Additionally, overcoming cultural resistance or deeply ingrained social norms that may oppose changes in gender roles, family planning practices, or traditional energy sources presents a considerable hurdle (unfpa.org).

Addressing the existing lack of robust energy infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, and the logistical challenges of expanding it are also critical (borgenproject.org). Building local capacity and expertise in both energy planning and reproductive health services is essential for long-term success. The UNFPA has appealed for sustained international support to protect the rights, health, and dignity of women and girls in Chad's escalating crisis, underscoring the need for global cooperation (unfpa.org). Chad cannot meet its Energy Compact targets without also setting and meeting goals for family planning and empowering women (ipsnews.net).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darius Spearman has been a professor of Black Studies at San Diego City College since 2007. He is the author of several books, including Between The Color Lines: A History of African Americans on the California Frontier Through 1890. You can visit Darius online at africanelements.org.