The GasPay Study.
January 10, 2025 | Ongoing Project | Reading time: 8 min
Introduction
KHRC is conducting the GasPay Study to test a digital platform which seeks to increase access to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) especially in underserved communities. This study addresses air pollution caused by traditional cooking fuels such as firewood and charcoal. GasPay is a mobile app designed to make it easier and more affordable for families to use LPG for cooking. With the app, users can save money for LPG refills in a special mobile money wallet, schedule deliveries, and share feedback with suppliers. The app also helps improve how LPG is distributed to encourage households to shift from traditional fuels to cleaner options.
Investigators
Kintampo Health Research Centre: Dr. Kwaku Poku Asante, Dr. Sulemana Watara Abubakari, Dr. Kaali Seyram, Ms. Theresa Tawiah, Mr. Alexander Appiah, Mr. Mohammed N. Mujtaba.
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health:
Darby Jack, Heather Lahr, Erin Harned, Annelise
University of California Santa Barbara: Kelsey Jack.
Background
Globally, about 3 billion people use traditional fuels (wood, kerosene, animal and crop waste, and coal) for cooking, resulting in millions of premature deaths each year, unsustainable clearing of forests, and emissions of greenhouse gasses and particles (primarily CO2 and black carbon). According to a WHO report from 2022, over 237000 deaths of children under the age of five in 2020, were attributed to household air pollution. Annually, household air pollution from polluting fuels was responsible for an estimated 3.2 million deaths. According to the report, household and ambient air pollution accounts for 6.7 million premature deaths every year. The report also revealed that household air pollution was a major cause of lung cancer, ischemic heart disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), among other non-communicable diseases. Women and children according to the report, bear the cost of these exposures because they are usually the ones doing household activities like cooking and gathering firewood.
In Ghana, air pollution is ranked as the second-highest risk factor for death and disability in 2019. To reduce costs related to air pollution, the Government of Ghana has committed to providing 50% of households access to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) - the most widely available clean fuel in Ghana - by 2030. As part of the push toward LPG, Ghana is transitioning from a refill model, in which households choose the quantity to fill their LPG cylinder at a filling station, to a cylinder recirculation model (CRM), in which households trade in empty cylinders for full ones dispersed by vendors. This change will entail a higher upfront cost than the current practice among many LPG users of high-frequency purchases of small quantities of LPG. GasPay is a cellphone-based application that links consumers with LPG suppliers. It enables users to save for an LPG purchase in a dedicated mobile money wallet, purchase LPG, schedule a delivery, and give feedback to the LPG supplier.
Through this study, the Combating Household Air Pollution (CHAP) project, a partnership between Columbia University, the University of California - Santa Barbara (UCSB), and the Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC, Ghana Health Service), seeks to test this digital platform that we hypothesize will help optimize supply chains and increase LPG use among marginalized consumers.
Objectives
The study aims to understand:
1.Whether a digital payment system could facilitate charcoal to LPG transitions.
2. What features are most useful to consumers and LPG vendors?
3. How GasPay can reduce personal
air pollution exposures.
4. The tradeoffs between impacts and profits.
Methodology
The study is implemented in three (3) stages. The first stage, known as the pre-pilot stage will recruit 50 participants. Data from these 50 participants will help the team refine the study procedures. Again, this data will help the team fine-tune survey instruments to ensure that, variables of interest set by the team are measurable. A month after the stage 1 rollout, an end-line survey will be conducted among these populations to learn about their experience with the application. This stage will also identify and address any issues with the app’s design and functionality for both users and vendors.
After data analysis, stage two (2), which is the main pilot will involve 1,000 households in Techiman area in the Bono East Region. Participants will be introduced to the GasPay app, assisted with registration, and their baseline demographic and fuel use data collected during the first visit. Three months later, a follow-up visit will assess LPG use, the transition from traditional fuels, and attitudes toward LPG, credit, and mobile money. Analytics from the app will track usage, while household surveys will provide insights into outcomes. This phase will also help address any further app design or functionality issues
Stage three (3), which is the main study will start in January 2025 and enroll 3000 people from Techiman Metropolitan Assembly and Kintampo-North Municipality. It will focus on identifying the best saving incentives and hire-purchase credit options to maximize LPG adoption and profitability
Expected Outcomes
The Study is expected to improve supply chains and make it easier for underserved communities in Ghana to use LPG.
Funders
Columbia University.
Study Duration : Seventeen (17) Months
Start Date : February 2024
End Date : June 2025
Conclusion
By addressing barriers to LPG adoption, findings from the GasPay Study will improve household air quality, reduce health risks, and contribute to Ghana's clean energy goals. This study could provide a model for other countries tackling similar challenges. This study continues to move closer to its vision of cleaner, healthier homes across the country.