Ghana's Rural Liquefied Petroleum Gas Program Scale Up: A case study

Abstract

Background
The Government of Ghana launched the Rural LPG (RLP) promotion program in 2013 as part of its efforts to reduce fuelwood consumption. The aim of the RLP is to contribute to Ghana's overarching goal to provide LPG access to 50% of Ghana's population by 2020. The RLP has not announced long-term program objectives. However, in the interim the RLP targeted a cumulative total of 170,000 LPG cookstoves to rural households by the end of 2017. As of November 2017, 149,500 rural households had received the LPG cook stoves. Our case study documents Ghana's experiences to date with LPG scale up.

Methods
We carried out a desktop review/document analysis of literature on the RLP. Each document was reviewed for information related to the elements of the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework as it pertained to LPG promotion and adoption. In-depth interviews were held among key stakeholders in Ghana. Previously collected data from a field evaluation of the RLP was also assessed.

Findings
Generally, our evaluation suggests that the current form of the RLP is not achieving its stated goal. Our evaluation of the RLP in five rural communities showed that about 58% of households had never refilled their LPG cylinders nine months after the initial delivery of a filled cylinder. Only 8% still used their LPG at 18 months post distribution. Cost and distance to LPG filling stations were the main reasons for low LPG use. Beneficiaries did not exclusively use their LPG even at the initial stages when all of them had LPG in their cylinders. Ghana is currently undergoing transitions in the LPG sector including a change from the current private cylinder ownership model to a cylinder recirculation model for the distribution of LPG. There was no evidence of a well-documented implementation framework for the RLP.

Conclusion
Fuel cost, poor LPG access, and an inadequate implementation framework hinder the RLP implementation.

Full text

Ghana's rural liquefied petroleum gas program scale up: A case study
Kwaku Poku Asante
a,
⁎, Samuel Afari-Asiedu
a
, Martha Ali Abdulai
a
, Maxwell Ayindenaba Dalaba
b
,
Daniel Carrión
c
, Katherine L. Dickinson
d
, Ali Nuhu Abeka
e
, Kwesi Sarpong
f
,DarbyW.Jack
c
a
Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health, P.O Box 200, Kintampo, Ghana
b
Navrongo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health, P.O Box 114, Navrongo, Ghana
c
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University (CU), USA
d
Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, USA
e
Ghana Ministry of Energy, P.O Box SD40, Cantonment, Accra, Ghana
f
Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, Ghana
abstractarticle info
Article history:
Received 28 February 2018
Revised 2 1 June 201 8
Accepted 25 June 2018
Available online 7 July 2018
Background: The Government of Ghana launched the Rural LPG (RLP) promotion program in 2013 as part of its
efforts to reduce fuelwood consumption. The aim of the RLP is to contribute to Ghana's overarching goal to pro-
vide LPG access to 50% of Ghana's population by 2020. The RLP has not announced long-term program objectives.
However,in the interim the RLP targeteda cumulativetotal of 170,000 LPG cookstoves to rural households by the
end of 2017. As of November 2017, 149,500 rural households had received the LPG cook stoves. Our case study
documents Ghana's experiences to date with LPG scale up.
Methods: We carried out a desktop review/document analysis of literature on the RLP. Each document was
reviewed for information related to the elements of the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and
Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework as it pertained to LPG promotion and adoption. In-depth interviews were
held among key stakeholders in Ghana. Previously collected data from a field evaluation of the RLP was also
assessed.
Findings: Generally, our evaluation suggests that the current form of the RLP is not achieving its stated goal. Our
evaluation of the RLP in five ruralcommunities showedthat about 58% of households had never refilledtheir LPG
cylinders nine months after the initial delivery of a filled cylinder. Only 8% still used their LPG at 18 months post
distribution. Cost and distance to LPG fillingstations were the main reasons for low LPG use. Beneficiaries didnot
exclusively use their LPG evenat the initial stages when all of them had LPG in their cylinders. Ghana is currently
undergoingtransitions in the LPG sector including a change from the current private cylinder ownership model
to a cylinder recirculation model for the distributionof LPG. There was no evidence of a well-documented imple-
mentation framework for the RLP.
Conclusion: Fuel cost, poor LPG access, and an inadequate implementation framework hinder the RLP
implementation.
© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of International Energy Initiative. This is an open access
article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords:
LPG
Rural LPG promotion
LPG scale-up
RE-AIM framework
Background
Air pollution from the use of solid fuels for household cooking is a
top priority global risk factor for respiratory, cardio-vascular and ocular
diseases (WHO, 2017). In Ghana, where biomass fuels are the primary
cooking fuels for 70% of households, exposure to household air pollution
is responsible for 16,600 deaths and the loss of 502,000 disability ad-
justed life-years annually (Ghana Statistical Service, 2012, 2014c;
Inkoom & Crentsil, 2015). Biomass fuels also contribute to ambient air
pollution (Fullerton, Bruce, & Gordon, 2008;Ghana Statistical Service,
2014b;WHO, 2011). Thus, there is a need to promote low emission
fuelssuchasLPG(MacCarty, Still, & Ogle, 2010;WHO, 2011).
Ghana is a low middle-income country located in West Africa with a
population of about 28 million as of 2016. About 50% of the population
live in rural areas (Ghana-Web, 2013) where over 90% of households
rely on either firewood or charcoal for cooking. The Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) of Ghana was 42.7 billion US dollars in 2016 with a
GDP growth rate of 3.6% (World-Bank, 2017).
In June 2012, Ghana became the first country to promulgate a Sus-
tainable Energy for All Action Plan, as called for by the United Nation's
Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) program (ENERGIA, 2015).
Among other things, the plan emphasized the importance of clean en-
ergy for cooking. Ghana's SEforALL plan also called for LPG cylinder
Energy for Sustainable Development 46 (2018) 94–102
⁎Corresponding author.
E-mail address: kwakupoku.asante@kintampo-hrc.org (K.P. Asante).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2018.06.010
0973-0826/© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of International Energy Initiative. This is an open access article under the CC BY licen se (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/).
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Energy for Sustainable Development

recirculation as a model for the distribution of LPG to accelerate the rate
of uptake of LPG for cooking (Energy-Commission, 2012a).
The objective of this case study is to document Ghana's scale up of
LPG. We focus on the Ghana Ministry of Energy's Rural Liquefied Petro-
leum Gas program, (RLP) a key element of Ghana's plan to expand LPG
access to 50% of Ghana's population by 2020 (Petersson, 2016). We also
assess ongoing efforts to restructure the LPG sector around a cylinder re-
circulation model. This change is still in the planning stage, so its rami-
fications cannot yet be observed.
Ghana is both a producer and importer of LPG. In 2017, about 36% of
Ghana's total LPG supply was produced in Ghana and around 64% was
imported (Energy-Commission, 2017b). To achieve a 50% nationwide
LPG use, Energy Commission of Ghana estimates at least 450,000 t of
LPG will be required by 2020 based on an estimated population of 31–
32 million (Energy-Commission, 2017a). LPG is distributed by about
42 LPG marketing companies to about 641 gas refilling stations across
the country. These refilling stations serve customers who carry their
empty cylinders to the gas refilling stations to get them refilled
(IMANI, 2017).
Historical background of LPG promotion in Ghana
LPG Promotion program
LPG promotion has a long history in Ghana. The Government of
Ghana, as part of its efforts to reduce deforestation, embarked on an
LPG promotion program in 1989 under the Ministry of Energy
(Morden-Ghana, 2011). The main objective of the program wasto foster
wider use of LPG as a substitute for charcoal and firewood for cooking;
health was not a stated objective (Ahunu, 2015). The LPG promotion
program also sought to improve LPG access via existing LPG distribution
networks nationwide, to increase LPG safety awareness through educa-
tional campaigns, and to promote local manufacturing of LPG cylinders
and accessories (Ahunu, 2015). The LPG promotion program targeted
households, public catering facilities and small-scale food sellers, and
worked to improve access, affordability and availability of LPG (UNDP,
2014).
As part of the 1989 LPG promotion strategy, 14.5 kg and 5 kg LPG
cylinders were distributed freely to the public, especially in urban
areas (Acharibasam & Apatinga, 2014). Consumers who requested an
empty cylinder were given one free of cost but were required to pay
for the cost of the gas. In order to consistently supply consumers with
LPG, the Ministry of Energy devised an LPG delivery strategy by pur-
chasing and assigning pick-up trucks to registered private individuals
to retail LPG (Edjekumhene, Atta-Owusu, & Ampong, 2007;Energy-
Commission, 2012b). The trucks operateda “door-to-door”LPG delivery
service, mainly in Accra. The door-to-door services involved on-the-
spot refilling of LPG cylinders to households from the haulage truck.
However, the practice exposed both the end-users and the retailers to
danger because there were no adequate safety measures in place as
the haulage trucks served people in residential areas. This practice
was therefore banned. (Edjekumhene et al., 2007). The fate of the haul-
age trucks after the ban is undocumented but they are likely to have
been remodeled for other purposes. The LPG promotion program was
extended to schools, hospitals and prisons. The Ministry of Energy
installed free LPG cylinders and equipment for these institutions
(Energy-Commission, 2012b).
To enhance LPG access in rural areas, financial incentives were pro-
vided through the Unified Petroleum Price Fund scheme to motivate
transporters who traveled to rural locations outside a radius of 200 km
from the LPG production center in the coastal area of Ghana (Ahunu,
2015). In spite of the Unified Petroleum Price Fund scheme, penetration
of LPG in rural areas was not encouraging. Out of the 6% of households
in 2004, and about 9% in 2005 using LPG as their primary source of fuel
for cooking, 70% lived in the largest cities of Ghana-Greater Accra and
Ashanti regions (Kemausuor, Obeng, Brew-Hammond, & Duker, 2011).
Only 3% of households in rural areas used LPG as of 2012 (Ahunu, 2015).
As part of its efforts to sustain LPG use, the Ministry of Energy cre-
ated an LPG fund that was financed by levies from LPG purchases
(Edjekumhene et al., 2007). The Fund was used to purchase and main-
tain cylinders, LPG tanks and kitchen equipment for Government of
Ghana institutions (schools, hospitals and prisons). It was also used to
finance the local component of the cost of constructingthe Ghana Cylin-
der Manufacturing Company factory in Accra with additional support
from the Government of the Republic of South Korea (Edjekumhene et
al., 2007).
The LPG Levy was removed in 1998, and an LPG subsidy was intro-
duced for domestic users to help households to meet their demand at
an affordable price. However, the purpose of the LPG subsidy was
defeated when taxis and other commercial vehicles switched to LPG
fuel because of the price difference between LPG and other transport
fuels such aspetrol. The use of LPG as fuel for cars increased the demand
leading to frequent shortages of LPG. This caused some households,
schools and other public institutions to revert to the use of charcoal
and firewood for cooking or at least as back-up fuels (Energy-
Commission, 2012a).
The Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company Ltd. (GCMC) was
established in 1998 to produce affordable LPG cylinders and accessories
(Edjekumhene et al., 2007;GCMC, 2017). This also served to standard-
ize cylinders, regulators and other LPG accessories (Ahunu, 2015;
GCMC, 2014). Following this, a second cylinder manufacturing plant –
Sigma Gas Ghana Ltd. was established in Accra. In 1995, three refilling
stations were built in coastal and northern areas of Ghana to improve
LPG access and distribution to various parts of the country
(Acharibasam & Apatinga, 2014). Despite these advances, limited stor-
age and distribution capacity throughout the country, combined with
use of LPG as a vehicle fuel, led to intermittent severe nationwide short-
ages of LPG.
In 2010, theGhana Energy Ministry's Energy Sector Strategy and De-
velopment Plan included a target of 50% LPG access by 2015. This was to
be achieved through the development of LPG infrastructure, the injec-
tion of millions of new cylinders in the market, and pricing incentives
to encourage distributors to expand their operations to rural and de-
prived areas. The following measures were earmarked for implementa-
tion (MoE, 2010):
•Speed up the establishment of a natural gas processing plant to pro-
duce LPG from the associated gas to be produced from the Jubilee
Oil and Gas Field. It is estimated that 10,000 barrels (1340 t) a day of
LPG could be produced from the gas from the Jubilee Field;
•Re-capitalize GCMC to expand production capacity. The production of
cylinders will focus on relatively small size (4 kg and 6 kg) cylinders
that will be affordable to households in rural communities;
•Construct LPG storage and supply infrastructure in all regional and
district capitals in the long term. In the medium term, it is intended
to develop district capital LPG infrastructure.
However, as of 2015, the goal of expanding LPG access to 50% of
Ghana's population had not been achieved. LPG use for 2013, the most
recent year for which we have data, was 22.3% (Energy-Commission,
2016). Of the measures outlined above, only one was implemented:
the establishment of the Ghana National Gas Company to build and op-
erate a Natural Gas Processing Plant in the Western Region (Energy-
Commission, 2012a). The 2012 SEforALL Action Plan postponed the tar-
get of achieving 50% access by five years, to 2020. In February 2013, all
subsidies on petroleum products, including LPG, were removed to
help the Ghana government restore fiscal stability after exceeding its
budget by nearly 100% in 2012 (Cooke, Hague, Tiberti, Cockburn, & El
Lahga, 2016;Reuters, 2013). The focus of LPG promotion was turned
to the free distribution of small size cylinders to rural communities –
the Rural LPG Program.
95K.P. Asante etal. / Energy for Sustainable Development 46 (2018) 94–102

The rural LPG promotion program
The Rural LPG Promotion Program (RLP) –the focus of this case
study –is an expansion of Ghana's 1989 LPG Promotion Project. The
LPG Promotion Project achieved some success in terms of increase in
tonnage of LPG consumed nationwide –from a little over 5000 t per
annum in 1989 to over 50,000 t in 2000 and 178,400 t by 2010. This not-
withstanding, theprogram made littleimpact on the rural areas because
of its focus on urban areas (Energy-Commission, 2012a). The RLP was
launched in November 2013 (ENERGIA, 2015)inGaru-Tempanainthe
Upper East Region of Ghana to contribute to Ghana's overarching goal
to expand LPG access to 50% of Ghana's population by 2020
(Petersson, 2016).Under the RLP there is a heightened effort to promote
LPG in ruralareas where half of Ghanaianslive and where the use of bio-
mass fuel is nearly universal (IMANI, 2017).
The RLP is coordinated by the Ministry of Energy together with
various stakeholders, including the Ghana National Petroleum Au-
thority (NPA), the Energy Commission of Ghana, Bulk Oil Storage
and Transporters Company (BOST), GCMC, and the Ghana National
Fire Service.
According to the Ministry of Energy, selection of districts for RLP
implementation is based on the presence of a local LPG refill station
and district-specific levels of deforestation. Within each district,
RLP coordinators meet with the District Assembly to identify rural
communities for distribution. The Government of Ghana provides
6 kg LPG cylinders, single burner stoves and the rest of the equip-
ment (hose and regulator) free of charge. The LPG cylinders and
stoves are produced by GCMC. In each district, about 2000 to 4000
LPG cylinders and cookstove are expected to be distributed and
households are expected to procure LPG from local vendors within
the districts (Energy-Commission, 2012a).
The selection of LPG beneficiary households is a collaboration be-
tween the district assemblies and focal persons within the communities
(district assembly nominated assemblymen, community volunteers, or
opinion leaders in the communities). The focal person in each commu-
nity is tasked by the district assembly to list potential beneficiaries who
are interested in LPG use and are able to pay an initial amount of GHC
22.00 (USD 5) for the filling of the LPG cylinder.
The cylinder recirculation model
In October 2017, there was an explosion at an LPG refilling station in
the Legon neighborhood of Accra, Ghana. The explosion left seven dead,
and over 130 injured (myjoyonline, 2017;TheGuardian, 2017). After
years of similar incidents, the Ghanaian government decided it was
time to intervene. The Presidentannounced a series of initiatives to im-
prove safety standards for LPG filling stations nationwide, led by the Na-
tional Petroleum Authority (Arthur-Mensah, 2017;Mubarik, 2017). The
primary focus is a shift to cylinder recirculation (Akoloh, 2017;Mubarik,
2017). In practice, this system means that consumers will no longer
own their own cylinders, but instead will purchase LPG in pre-filled cyl-
inders. The LPG cylinder recirculation model, along with planned im-
provements in LPG storage and distribution, has the potential to
increase access to safe and cost-effective LPG use. Instead of a few
hundred small filling stations, the policy will likely result in thou-
sands of retailers served by a small number of industrial-scale filling
stations. The full implementation of the cylinder recirculation policy
was scheduled to start at the beginning of 2018 after the challenges
encountered during the initial stages in 2017. During the sensitiza-
tion, some stakeholders including the LPG marketing companies
and LPG tanker drivers raised concerns that the implementation of
the policy would put them out of business. The draft LPG policy
was then recalled for further consultations with all relevant stake-
holders, especially the LPG marketing companies and LPG tanker
drivers (Akoloh, 2017).
Methods, sources and approach
We reviewed literature on the RLP and on Ghanaian LPG sector poli-
cies, drawing on peer reviewed papers, newspaper accounts, and official
documents from the Government of Ghana and other institutions. In-
depth interviews were held among key informants in Ghana. The
interviewed stakeholders were purposively selected based on their role
in the RLP. The interviewees included 2 personnel from the Ministry of
Energy who are responsible for RLP implementation, 1 from Bulk Oil Stor-
age and Transporters Company, a government owned company that is re-
sponsible for transporting LPG in bulk, and 1 from the Ghana Chamber of
Bulk Oil Distributors, a representative body of Bulk Oil Distribution
Companies. The documents and interviews were analyzed for informa-
tion related to the elements of the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Imple-
mentation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework (Glasgow, Vogt, &
Boles, 1999) as it pertained to LPG promotion and adoption.
Previously-collected data from an evaluation of the RLP in five rural
communities in the Nkoranza North District in the Brong Ahafo Region
of Ghana wasanalyzed (Kintampo Health Reasearch Centre, 2016). This
evaluation used a cross-sectional mixed methods design to evaluate the
RLP between November 2015 and October 2016. Focus Group Discus-
sions (FGD) were conducted among women who were primary cooks
(beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of LPG), and male household
heads from beneficiary households (Kintampo Health Reasearch
Centre, 2016). The study assessed the use of traditional three stone
fire stoves and LPG stoves before and after the delivery of the LPG stoves
among 200 randomly selected primary cooks. Data oncarbon monoxide
(CO) exposure of the primary cooks was collected using Lascar EL-USB-
CO data loggers (Lascar Electronics, London, UK) in the same sample.
Forty eight (48) hour CO exposure levels experienced by primary
cooks were measured in four surveys: before LPG was distributed (base-
line) and after the LPGwas distributed (months three, six and nine post-
distribution). The mean age of the 200 respondents was 39 (standard
deviation 12.5) and over 91.5% of them were agricultural farmers.
Over 60% (61%) of the respondents had large household sizes of be-
tween 5 and 9 household members (Kintampo Health Reasearch
Centre, 2016). Interactions with human subjects were approved by
the Institutional Ethics Committee at Kintampo Health Research Centre
in Ghana and Columbia University's Institutional Review Board in the
US.
Results
Reach
Reach refers to the number of people and percentage of the target
population affected by the RLP. It also includes the extent to which the
individuals reached are representative and include those most at risk.
The total number of households in Ghana as at 2010 was 5,467,136
(Ghana Statistical Service, 2012). In 1990, use of LPG for household
cooking was about 1% in the whole country and b1% in rural areas. Ac-
cording to the most recent national data, this has increased to about
22% and 6% in 2014 respectively (Fig. 1).
In 2014, wood (37%), charcoal (33%) and LPG/natural Gas/biogas
(24%) were the most commonly used cooking fuels (Fig. 2). Urban
households were much more likely to use LPG (37% vs 9%) or charcoal
(42% vs 21%) compared to rural households. Overall, 70% of households
use solid fuel for cooking, i.e., charcoal, wood, straw, shrubs, grass and
agricultural crops, and animal dung. A higher proportion of rural house-
holds use wood for cooking compared with urban households (66%
vs13%) (Ghana Statistical Service, 2014b).
Beyond the overarching 50% national target, the rural LPG program
has not made public long-term program objectives. As an interim goal,
RLP targeted a cumulative total of 170,000 LPG cookstoves to rural
households by the end of 2017. As at November 2017, 149,500
(87.6%) rural households had received the LPG cookstoves in 108
96 K.P. Asante etal. / Energy for Sustainable Development 46 (2018) 94–102

districts within the period. Only 2000 (14.4%) out of 13,882 households
(Ghana Statistical Service, 2012, 2014a) received LPG cylinders and
cookstoves in the Nkoranza North District where we evaluated the pro-
gram. These numbers are small relative to district populations. The RLP
aims to cover more than the 217 districts of Ghana. Though the popula-
tion reached is rural, beneficiaries were selected in part based on their
ability to pay 5 USD for the initial 6 kg LPG fill. This in effect selects
against the poorest members of the beneficiary communities.
Effectiveness
Effectiveness refers to a measure of effects, including positive, nega-
tive, and unanticipated consequences of the RLP. The current form of
the RLP is not promoting anything close to effective and sustained impact
based on our data on exclusive LPG use from the Nkoranza communities
(Kintampo Health Reasearch Centre, 2016). In a sample of 200 LPG recip-
ientsacrossthesefive communities, all 200 recipients continued to rely
primarily on wood fuels for cooking nine months after LPG distribution.
In the five communities, the program did not demonstrate an effec-
tive change in personal CO exposures (Fig. 3). We did not evaluate ef-
fects on deforestation or other program objectives, but given the low
rates of LPG use, meaningful impacts are unlikely. Our surveillance in
the five Nkoranza communities did not reveal any unintended or ad-
verse consequences of the program.
Adoption
Adoption refers to the number and percentage of people participat-
ing, the extent to which participants are representative of the broader
population, and barriers to adoption. In the RLP, initial adoption is auto-
matic for program participants. In evaluating the subject of adoption
within the RE-AIM framework, however, we interpret adoption to
mean sustained use of LPG.
The RLP is being rolled throughout the country in phases. Early
phases ofthe program include districts that were selectedbased on pov-
erty levels as per the Ghana Living and Livelihood Standards and
Ghana's Energy Commission report on access to LPG and increase deple-
tion of forest (Ghana Statistical Service, 2014c;Kintampo Health
Reasearch Centre, 2016). In the review of data from the 5 Nkoranza
communities, there was the perception of political influence in the se-
lection of some of the beneficiary districts, and that political consider-
ations worsened during the 2016 election year.
The LPG cookstoves were distributed based onpolitical affiliation. My el-
der sister is a member of the ruling governments' political party so she
got one. When I asked her, she said it was true, I was told that, even if
I was a party member who does not openly show my party affiliation
[…]. That is why I did not to get one (FGD, LPG non-beneficiary).
Nine months after distribution, 58% of the 200 LPG beneficiary
households had never refilled their 6 kg LPG cylinders after the initial
2.2 4.1
9.5
22.3
5.7
10.1
20
35.8
50
0.3 0.6 1.5
5.5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025
LPG use for household cooking (%)
Year
Whole country Urban Rural
Fig. 1. Percentage ofpopulation usingLPG for household cooking in Ghanaover time, with
the dotted lineindicating the neededtrajectory for a 50% target(Ghana StatisticalService,
1992, 2000, 2008, 2014c). Note: The historical data (1992–2014) is primary fuel use as
reported in household surveys. We interpret the 50% target to mean that 50% of
households regularly use LPG.
Fig. 2. Types of primary fuel use for cooking in rural and urban households in Ghana (Source: Ghana Statistical Service, 2014b). Note: Unlike Fig. 1, LPG is combined with natural gas in this figure.
97K.P. Asante etal. / Energy for Sustainable Development 46 (2018) 94–102

fill; 24% of had refilled once, 10% had refilled twice, and about 9% had
refilled three or more times. It is also important to note that the LPG
beneficiaries did not exclusively use LPG for cooking even at the initial
stage of the evaluation when they had LPG in their cylinders
(Kintampo Health Reasearch Centre, 2016). In follow up surveys in the
Nkoranza communities, only 8% of respondents still used LPG 18
months after distribution of the cylinders. This finding was corroborated
in focus groups, in which participants reported relying on traditional
three stone fires and coal pots, and by low reported refill rates (as
discussed above).
Poverty is the root cause of continued use of the traditional three
stone fires (Karimu, Mensah, & Adu, 2016). It is therefore interesting
to realize that the LPG subsidy was removed in 2013 when the RLP
was launched. Targeted subsidy might be helpful. Fuel wood in our
study area was almost exclusively gathered rather than purchased.
LPG, in contrast, requires a substantial cash outlay. In rural households
in Ghana, the average monthly expenditure on housing, water and
household energy is about 15 USD (Ghana Statistical Service, 2014c).
The cost of a month's supply of LPG (14.5 kg) is GHC 74.0 (approxi-
mately 16.80USD), and therefore competes keenly with other house-
hold needs. Price volatility is also high (Fig. 4). Currently the price of
6 kg of LPG is about GHC 28.00 (about 6.0 USD) compared to GHC
22.00 (5.00 USD) at the time of our evaluation of the RLP in Nkoranza.
Most of the residents in rural communities are farmers who depend
on seasonal crop yields. The seasonality of the respondent income chal-
lenges adoption and sustained use of LPG.
I also think that money for refilling the gas was a hindrance. Mostly the
income we get here is seasonal. When crops are in season, it might be
easy to refill, however when the farm produce is finished that is when
the refilling will stop (FGD, LPG non-beneficiaries).
In the Nkoranza study communities, RLP participants had to travel
an average of 25 km (range: 20–28 km) to refill their cylinders. Along
with cost, the logistics of transporting cylinders to the filing station
was commonly reported as a main barrier to the useof LPG cookstoves.
Focus group participants identified a number of benefits from LPG
use as outlined below with examples of quotation from respondents.
Facilitates multi-tasking
Whilst cooking I could be doing other things. I can even wash my farm
attire, eat early and sleep (FGD, LPG non-beneficiaries).
Male involvement in cooking
Before the LPG cookstoves I had the perception that cooking is for
women because going to set fire to cook as a man means you don't have
a wife. For now, this perception has reduced because of the LPG cook
stove (FGD, men of LPG beneficiaries' household).
Business opportunities
“In some communities there were no LPG refilling station and once LPG
marketing companies gets to know that there are about 2000 cylinders in
circulation in one district then they feel that this is a good way to make
money”(Program Officer, Energy Ministry).
Fast cooking
Before the gas came, women could spend more than two hours on
cooking. But with the gas, time spent for cooking is reduced drastically be-
cause when you turn on the LPG stove, the fire doesn't go down (FGD, men
of LPG beneficiaries' household).
Fig. 3. A box plot showing the Log of means of CO exposure from baseline through to
month 9 (Source: Data from Kintampo Health Reasearch Centre, 2016).
Fig. 4. Historical variability in retail LPG prices in Ghana-August 2007-June 2015. Vertical line marks the end of the subsidy (Source: Ghana National Petroleum Agency, 2017a, b;current
prices) (National Petroleum Authority, 2017b).
98 K.P. Asante etal. / Energy for Sustainable Development 46 (2018) 94–102

Clean cooking
Whenyoucookonathree-stonefire, the cooking utensils will get dark
and makes washing of the utensils difficult. But with the gas stove, the uten-
sils still look clean after cooking they don't get dark (FGD, men of LPG ben-
eficiaries' households).
Taste of food
“The soup taste differently when you cook with the LPG cookstove be-
cause smoke does not get into it”(FGD, men of LPG beneficiaries'
household).
Enhanced performance of school children
Instead of studying children have to go and fetch firewood after school
but it is not like that if you are using LPG cookstove (FGD men of LPG ben-
eficiaries' household).
Implementation
Implementation refers to the level of adherence to implementation
principles or guidelines, the extent to which selected elements are im-
plemented, and the cost.
Currently, the RLP does not have a documented implementation
plan for LPG distribution. The National Petroleum Agency is leading
the development of an overarching Ghana LPG policy document
(Akoloh, 2017). When completed, this policy will put forth an imple-
mentation plan for the RLP. While promising, this new policy frame-
work will be hindered by the fact that the RLP had not been
systematically evaluated. To date the RLP has no systematic monitoring
and evaluation component and thus no mechanism for adjusting the
program based on feedback. The Nkoranza field evaluation described
above comprises the first effort to assess program performance. The
Ministry of Energy has a research department responsible for monitor-
ing programs but lacks the resources to do so. There is no monitoring
and evaluation framework to guide their activities.
The original aim and structure of the RLP being implemented by the
Ministry of Energy has not changed, though the mode of operation/distri-
bution has altered. At launch, the distribution of the LPG cylinders and
cookstoves to beneficiaries in designated districts was initiated with a
durbar (community meeting) to launch the program before distribution.
Currently, the launching is not being done and the distribution is done
by the district assembly (the local political administrative unit). However,
it emerged during our stakeholder interviews that there are challenges
with the current mode of distribution because after the cylinders, cook-
stoves and accessories have been delivered to the district Assembly,
there are perceptions that the local personnel sometimes share it
among their favorites. Consequently, the Ministry of Energy is evaluating
the possibility of returning to the original mode of field operations and
distribution of LPG by the distribution team from the Ministry.
Maintenance
Maintenance refers to how individuals or interventions continue to
exhibit the desired changes; how changes are maintained; or how
new barriers to use is prevented or mitigated. In the review of the RLP
and interviews, the following potential promoters or barriers to the pro-
grams maintenance were identified.
Lack of spare parts for stoves
We observed that study participants did not have access to spare
parts for stoves and the accompanying hardware. Anecdotally, this
caused a small number of households that were initial enthusiastic
users revert to fuelwood after experiencing minor damage to stove
parts. The lack of spare parts may also pose a safety risk if RLP house-
holds continue to use stoves with faulty parts.
Monitoring and evaluation
The research and statistics directorate of the Ministry of Energy car-
ies out monitoring and evaluation activities periodically to check if the
purpose for which beneficiaries were given the stoves is being fulfilled.
This indicates commitment to ensure the RLP is monitored to meet its
objectives. However, the directorate indicated its willingness to collab-
orate with other research institutions to strengthen its research activi-
ties and in particular to evaluate stove use by beneficiaries. The
SEforALL program has a regular newsletter (Energy-Commission,
2017c) that outlines the number of stoves distributed by the program
but does not report on stove use. Theneed for collaboration in monitor-
ing and evaluation was emphasized as below.
“It will be great to collaborate with you (Kintampo Health Research
Centre), share experience and support each other in the conduct of re-
search especially in the areas of writing proposals, data management
and analysis and report writing”(Respondent, Ministry of Energy).
Diversified sources of LPG supply
LPG supply is produced from diversified sources thus limiting the
risk of monopoly and inadequate fuel supply (MoP, 2016). LPG is pro-
duced by the Ghana Gas Company as a byproduct during the processing
of natural gas to lean gas for electricity generation. LPG is also imported
into the country by private individuals and companies. Currently there
are about 23 LPG importers in Ghana in addition to the Ghana Gas Com-
pany (CBOD, 2017). This diverse set of sources –including domestic
production –is a core strength of the sector.
Implementation of LPG cylinder recirculation model
In Ghana, discussions on the recirculation model dates back to 2010
(Energy-Commission, 2016) but the urgency to get it into policy for im-
plementation gained momentum in October 2017, after a gas explosion
at a refilling station in Accra that led to loss of lives and properties
(Abdul-Hamid, 2017). The Government of Ghana through the NPA is
in the final stage of stakeholder engagement to implement the “LPG Re-
circulation model”(or LPG Cylinder Exchange Model). In this model,
consumers will pay an upfront deposit for an initial cylinder and subse-
quently pay for only the LPG (Energy-Commission, 2012a;National
Petroleum Authority, 2017a). This model is likely to improve the safety
of LPG cylinders as LPG retailers will be held to quality standards. The
shift to recirculation is also expected to result in a sharp uptick in the
number of LPG distribution points.
Political will to continue the implementation of RLP
In spite of the change in political party in charge of government in
2017, the current administration appears committed to continue the im-
plementation of the RLP and to streamline it where necessary. This was
clearly captured in the 2018 budget and the Government is developing
new strategies such as implementation of the recirculation model and
commissioning of new cylinder refilling stations (Ofori-Attah, 2017).
Risks to sustainability
Inadequate funding for the program
Though the Ghana Government is committed to RLP, there is cur-
rently inadequate funding to support the program.
Government is quite challenged when it comes to funding. The ministry
has the plan to do this on a larger scale but this is all subject to the
99K.P. Asante etal. / Energy for Sustainable Development 46 (2018) 94–102

amount of money that ministry of finance has at its disposal for the RLP.
Lobbying to get funds has always been a challenge (Respondent, En-
ergy Ministry).
The LPG compensation margin derived from LPG price build-up is
the only dedicated source of funding for the program. The levy imposed
on LPG is Ghp10/kg (USD 0.02) which translates into an increase in ex-
pump price by 4% (ACEP, 2016). The margin in the LPG price build-up
works against the purpose of access and affordability since it in turn in-
creases the end user price of LPG.
Inadequate LPG refilling station
The 50% LPG penetration target for 2020 is unlikely to be achieved
given the limited number of refilling stations nationwide especially
the three northern regions of Ghana (Fig. 5), limited supply and
Fig. 5. Location of 641 LPG refilling stations in Ghana (based on Ministry of Energy 2017 Data).
100 K.P. Asante et al. / Energyfor Sustainable Development 46 (2018) 94–102

distribution infrastructure and the limited total storage capacity and
coverage which constrains distribution and access. Though there has
been increase in the number of refilling stations in the three northern
regions of Ghana from 2011 to 2017 they are still inadequate. Within
this period, the number of refilling stations has increased from 6, 4, 3
(Mensah, Kemausuor, & Brew-Hammond, 2014) to 13,9 and11 in the
Northern, Upper west and Upper East regions respectively. It is antici-
pated thatthe shift to the cylinder recirculation model may help address
this issue.
Delay in production by the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company
The Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company is the only company
manufacturing and supplying LPG cylinders to the RLP. It is sometimes
unable to meet the RLP's demand for LPG cylinders due to delay in the
importation of raw materials for production.
There are delays in receiving raw materials because they are imported
and a lot of bureaucracies are involved to get them to the factory for
production. Consequently, there are production challenges at the Na-
tional level and sometimes the distribution team gets ready but do not
have the cylinders to go for distribution (RLP Programs Officer, Energy
Ministry).
Discussion
Our case study documented Ghana's RLP. Our findings suggest that
the RLP is not contributing enough to Ghana's overarching goal to ex-
pand LPG access to 50% of Ghana's population by 2020 considering the
low number of LPG cookstoves distributed and the few number of recip-
ients who actually use the LPG stoves.
Recipients of LPG cookstoves are not able to sustain the use of the
LPG because of financial constraints (Karimu et al., 2016) accentu-
ated by an income seasonality. The beneficiary's inability to sustain
the use of LPG is abundantly clear in our data from the five Nkoranza
communities, where only 8% of RLP beneficiaries were still using
their LPG stoves 18 months after delivery and where none of the
study participants reported switching to LPG as a primary fuel. Fi-
nancial constraint was a barrier to sustained use of LPG because ben-
eficiaries were mainly farmers who depend on seasonal crop yields
and thus lack regular source of income to support LPG purchases. A
caveat is in order however: these communities may not represent ef-
fectiveness of the RLP nationally. Further evaluation is needed to un-
derstand how adoption and effectiveness vary across the country
especially after the cylinder recirculation model is implemented. Re-
lated to the issue of financial constraints and LPG pricing is the LPG
compensation margin which is used to fund the RLP. The margin in-
creases the price of LPG.
Effective scaling up of programs requires the systematic use of evi-
dence and it is essential that data from implementation monitoring is
linked to decision making throughout the scaling up process. A key suc-
cess factor for scaling up programs is the importance of establishing
monitoring and evaluation systems (Milat, Bauman, & Redman, 2015).
The Energy Ministry has a Research and statistics department but this
unit lacks the human and infrastructure resources to monitor the pro-
gramme. As part of the general monitoring activities of the ministry's
projects, the unit visits few beneficiaries to ask if they are still using
their LPG stoves. These activities are not systematically carried out
based on protocols but rather random administrative checks. The re-
search findings from the evaluation of the program in Nkoranza will
(Kintampo Health Reasearch Centre, 2016) will be useful in this regard.
Beyond systematic useof evidence and M&E in the program scale up,
the program must revisit the strategies required for LPG scale up in
Ghana spelt out in the 2010 Energy Sector Strategy and Development
Plan (MoE, 2010). One of the strategies was the establishment of a Nat-
ural Gas Processing Plant to produce LPG. Though the Ghana Gas com-
pany was established in 2011, it is yet to produce the estimated 70% of
Ghana's LPG needs. In 2017, about 36% of Ghana's total LPG supply
was produced in Ghana. Effort must be put in place to increase domestic
production to make LPG more accessible. On the issue of supply infra-
structure BOST operates depots that are strategically spread across the
country including Greater Accra (Tema), Volta, Akosombo, Buipe in
the northern region and Bolgatanga in the Upper East region. Though
the long term goal is to construct LPG storage and supply infrastructure
in all regional and district capitals, there is the need to increase the
number of LPG filling stations nationwide, especially the three northern
regions of Ghana.
The Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company is the sole manufac-
turer of cylinders for the RLP. GCMC does not have the capacity to pro-
duce enough cylinders and accessories for distribution. It is therefore
important for the Ghana government to fast track the recapitalization
of the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing company to facilitate production
of LPG cylinders or engage the private sector to participate in the cylin-
der manufacturing (IMANI, 2017). This should be done in an effective
certification and regulatory environment to attract the interest of pri-
vate investors to invest in the industry. The government could also pro-
vide incentives for the importation of cylinders to augment those
produced locally during the recapitalization process. This will support
fast distribution of the LPG cylinders and increase the potential for
adoption. Additionally, the government may need to invest in infra-
structure expansion, particularly investment in cylinders to achieve
Ghana's target LPG use of 50%.
In terms of health benefits, we did not find a significant relationship
between LPG use and CO exposure, which comes as no surprise given
low usage rates. Continued use of 3-stone fires by neighbors who
don't benefit from the program may also attenuate the benefits of use
even in those households that do completely switch to LPG (Pope,
Bruce, Dherani, Jagoe, & Rehfuess, 2017). Stove stacking may be inevita-
ble, but in our surveys, beneficiaries have returned to the exclusive use
of wood fuel mainly because of financial constraints and the fact that
fuel wood was gathered rather than purchased.
Conclusion
Fuel cost, poor LPG access, and an inadequate implementation
framework hinder the RLP Ghana's overarching goal to expand LPG ac-
cess to 50% of Ghana's population by 2020. This implies that some finan-
cial aid might help. The implementation of the cylinder recirculation
model could ease access to LPG.
Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful to all respondents and to Kintampo Health
ResearchCentre, Ghana Health Service, Ministry of Energy, National Pe-
troleum Authority, Nkoranza North District, and Columbia University.
We also acknowledgeadvice and input fromthe Global LPG Partnership.
The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of researchers in
Kintampo Health Research Centre and Columbia University and do not
necessarily reflect the views of NIH, USAID, the United States Govern-
ment, the NPA or the Ministry of Energy.
Funding
This work was supported in part through the Clean Cooking Im-
plementation Science Network (ISN) with funds from the United
States NIH Common Fund program for Global Health. Daniel Carrión
is funded by NIH T32ES023770 and NIH P30 ES009089 helped sup-
port exposure assessment efforts. The Nkoranza fieldwork was sup-
ported by The United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) under cooperative agreement no. GHS-A-00-09-00015-00
funded Translating Research into Action, TRAction; the project team
includes prime recipient, University Research Co., LLC (URC), Har-
vard University School of Public Health (HSPH), and sub-recipient
research organizations.
101K.P. Asante et al. / Energy for Sustainable Development 46 (2018) 94–102

Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict.
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