Giving up the use of wood-burning stoves could save the lives of about half a million Africans a year, the press service of the Royal Institute of Technology reported.

Traditional wood and coal-burning stoves are central to millions of homes in Africa, as well as in other developing regions of the world. Stoking with wood contributes to respiratory disease because the stoves are stoked black and it takes time to collect the fuel.

Researchers ran simulations with OnStove and found that replacing traditional wood and coal-burning stoves in sub-Saharan Africa could prevent up to 463,000 deaths each year. In doing so, it would save $66 billion in health care costs, according to Associate Professor Francesco Fuso-Nerini.

Achieving that goal would require a net capital investment of $7.5 billion to provide alternatives such as gas and electric stoves and improved wood-burning stoves that safely divert emissions.

"That amount may seem high, but it's only about 0.5% of what the world spends annually on energy investments," says the scientist.