By 2014, "1.06 billion people, predominatly rural dwellers, have no acess to electricity. Half of these people live in sub-Saharan Africa. "

In Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations.

In order to broaden and improve existing information and thus deepen the analysis of São Tomé and Príncipe's access to energy, CESO, in partnership with TESE-Association for Development, recently initiated the National Household Survey on Access to Energy.

The project also aims to train national staff to support the collection of data, manage the information provided by the research, to take policy measures, investment, among others, that will enable them in the future to monitor the expected progress towards access to energy in the country.

Ensuring access to modern, reliable and sustainable energy by 2030, is one of the objectives outlined by the United Nations initiative for the Sustainable Agenda for 2030. Recently endorsed by world leaders, the Agenda aims to bring together efforts at the global level, over the next 15 years,  around the eradication of all forms of poverty, combating inequalities and taking to climate change.

It is in this context that the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program, a global knowledge and technical assistance program administered by the World Bank, was created. Its mission is to provide advisory services to the most disadvantaged countries, to increase their know-how and institutional capacity to enable them to achieve environmentally sustainable energy solutions that contribute to poverty reduction and economic growth.

In São Tomé and Príncipe, access to energy continues to condition the country's development potential. The data available in this area are scarce and even, in some cases, few reliable, and there is therefore a need to evaluate and monitor it.

The National Household Survey on Access to Energy in São Tomé and Príncipe aims to contribute to the promotion of sustainable access for the population in this area. The purpose is to collect and analyze a solid and reliable set of data on access to energy, so that a credible baseline can be established in the future to monitor developments in this area.

The project will thus develop, at national level, a multidimensional approach which will take into account the existence of different socio-cultural contexts, including urban and rural communities as well as formal and informal entrepreneurs, among others.

While not only providing policy makers and other stakeholders with relevant analytical data and information on the subject, the project will focus on mobilizing partners and local capacities to ensure ownership and involvement in the process.

Funded by the World Bank, the National Household Survey on Access to Energy in Sao Tomé and Príncipe is scheduled to last eight months.

Know more about this project here

August 2017