WB sources said they proposed the "Indoor Air Pollution (IAP) Reduction" project recently as it is an environmental hazard, which needs to be addressed to reach the health-related millennium development goal (MDG) by 2015.

The project will build a community-led approach to address the problems associated with conventional cooking practices and its direct health risks, the sources said.

The project will be implemented in the areas where Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) has become successful as it could easily make behavioural changes among household members of the community.

The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) of the Ministry of Local Government will implement the project in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Forest, NGOs and union parishads.

The Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) under the Ministry of Science and Technology will provide technical support.

The project will work on behaviour changes, improved housing, low-cost and cleaner energy technologies and introduce improved biomass stoves and improved processed fuels through various technical and capacity building training.

A Bangladesh Country Environmental Analysis (CEA) conducted by the WB in collaboration with the government found that indoor air directly affects lactating mothers and young children.

These results suggest that a major portion of premature deaths of under-five children is attributable to indoor air pollution, said the WB sources.