From silos to systems: Enabling off-grid electrification of healthcare facilities, households, and businesses in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Electrification gaps greatly impede healthcare service provision in sub-Saharan Africa. In a recent Joule article, Moner-Girona et al. show that electrifying unconnected healthcare facilities with solar off-grid systems is feasible and cost-effective. Here, I discuss critical design, operations, and enabling environment characteristics required to implement and rapidly scale integrated off-grid solar solutions for sustainable development. Electrification gaps greatly impede healthcare service provision in sub-Saharan Africa. In a recent Joule article, Moner-Girona et al. show that electrifying unconnected healthcare facilities with solar off-grid systems is feasible and cost-effective. Here, I discuss critical design, operations, and enabling environment characteristics required to implement and rapidly scale integrated off-grid solar solutions for sustainable development. Achieving universal electrification of rural healthcare facilities in sub-Saharan Africa with decentralized renewable energy technologiesMoner-Girona et al.JouleOctober 20, 2021In BriefEffective strategies for financing the electrification of healthcare remain a challenge in sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, Moner-Girona et al. identify a large gap in the electrification of healthcare facilities, and they show that decentralized photovoltaic systems can offer a clean, reliable, quick, and cost-effective solution. These findings provide a bottom-up geographic information system (GIS) framework for policy makers, researchers, consultants, and other stakeholders bridging two elements of the sustainable development goals: “energy for all” (SDG7) and “healthcare for all” (SDG3). Full-Text PDF Open Access