Abstract
SummaryA potential response to the COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with long-term benefits is to provide electricity for medical equipment in rural health centers and communities. This study identifies a large gap in the electrification of healthcare facilities in SSA, and it shows that decentralized photovoltaic systems can offer a clean, reliable, quick, and cost-effective solution. The cost of providing renewable electricity to each health facility by a stand-alone PV system is analyzed for a given location (incorporating operational costs). The upfront investment cost for providing electricity with PV to >50,000 facilities (mostly primary health posts) currently without electricity is estimated at EUR 484 million. Analysis of the accessibility and population distribution shows that 281 million people could reduce their travel time to healthcare facilities (by an average of 50 min) if all facilities were electrified.
Highlights
The United Nations’ (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs) were adopted by all its member states in 2015 as a universal action call to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030
Following the methodology described in experimental procedures, the study identified 56,801 health centers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) that fall in the NEA category
For each NEA facility, we assessed the costs of providing electricity with PV decentralized systems and identified the population served under several travel time assumptions
Summary
The United Nations’ (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs) were adopted by all its member states in 2015 as a universal action call to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. For sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), there is a direct link between SDG 7 ‘‘Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy’’ and SDG3 ‘‘Good health and wellbeing for all1’’ (Figure 1). International organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Global Fund, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, USAID, and the EU have prioritized specific programs to support and ensure reliable electricity access to underserved communities in rural areas.[2,3]. The lack of electrification in large parts of SSA leaves many healthcare facilities with inadequate power for both basic and emergency services.[15,16] Electricity is essential for the majority of emergency care
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