Energy Poverty: Causes, Solutions & SDG 7

Understand the root causes of energy poverty in Africa and the Caribbean, the pathways to ending it, and how SDG 7 provides a global framework for action.

Energy poverty affects over 770 million people worldwide — the vast majority in Sub-Saharan Africa and Small Island Developing States in the Caribbean. This course explains what energy poverty is, why it persists, and what it will take to end it.

What You’ll Learn

• How to measure and define energy poverty — beyond simple electrification metrics
• The structural, financial, and political barriers to energy access
• The health, education, and economic consequences of energy deprivation
• Off-grid, mini-grid, and grid extension solutions and their trade-offs
• The role of gender in energy access and clean cooking
• SDG 7 targets, tracking mechanisms, and the investment gap
• Case studies from Kenya, Bangladesh, Jamaica, and Senegal

Level: Beginner · Duration: 5 hours · 4 modules · 8 lessons · Final quiz with Certificate of Completion after passing (70% or higher).