DAR ES SALAAM, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The World Food Program (WFP) said on Tuesday preparations were underway to distribute 5,000 energy-efficient cooking stoves to Tanzanian refugee hosting communities in the western region of Kigoma.

The WFP said in a statement the distribution of the stoves was designed to reduce emissions, improve fuel efficiency, and ease the strain on local resources around refugee camps.

The statement said the distribution of the stoves was an initiative in collaboration with the Tanzania National Carbon Monitoring Center and OffgridSun, an Italian company specialized in the development and production of photovoltaic technologies for regions with limited or no access to national electricity grids.

In May, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan unveiled a 1.8-billion-U.S.-dollar national strategy to ensure that 80 percent of Tanzanians use clean cooking solutions by 2034. ■