A project overseen by Sustainable Electricity for All (SEforALL) has equipped six major hospitals in Sierra Leone with solar power and battery systems, giving them access to clean, dependable, and affordable electricity.
24/7 Essential Medical Care Now Available
Installations were completed in late 2023 at six key facilities: Ola During Children’s Hospital (ODH), Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (PCMH), and Masanga Hospital, along with the government hospitals in Kambia, Kabala, and Bonthe. With a total installed capacity of 0.6 megawatt-peak, these hospitals can now provide crucial medical services around the clock.
SEforALL’s Sierra Leone Country Manager, Ngozi Beckley-Lines, expressed her satisfaction, noting that equipping hospitals like Kambia, Bonthe, and Masanga with solar panels ensures they have reliable, clean, and environmentally friendly power.
“This implies that communities can now start to anticipate significantly better service delivery and 24/7 essential medical care in these institutions. We are very happy that we are saving lives together,” Beckley-Lines added.
Backed by UK funding and developed with partners including Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health, Crown Agents, and EM-ONE Energy Solutions Canada, the project also drew praise from Sierra Leone’s Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby.
“We will undoubtedly make great progress towards achieving universal access and a gradual transition to clean and sustainable energy with such strong partnerships, investments, and government policies and regulations,” Demby remarked.
38% of Health Facilities Lack Access to Electricity
One of the most significant yet often overlooked hurdles for healthcare in Africa is unreliable power, which leads to life-threatening complications and avoidable deaths.
Sierra Leone is one of the most affected nations, where recent analysis shows 38% of health facilities lack electricity. This problem is compounded by high mortality rates for newborns, infants, and children under five, at 34, 82, and 111 deaths per 1,000 live births, respectively. Maternal mortality is also stark, with UNICEF reporting 1,360 deaths per 100,000 live births.
The Sierra Leone Healthcare Electrification project demonstrates this challenge can be overcome. The initiative is now expanding to install solar power at an additional hospital and 25 community health centres nationwide. This marks a transformative step for a nation committed to advancing high-quality, accessible, affordable, and equitable healthcare.
A 2023 collaborative report from the World Health Organization (WHO), SEforALL, and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) revealed that around one billion people in low- and middle-income nations are served by healthcare facilities with unreliable electricity or no electricity at all.
As an alternative, many of these facilities rely on noisy, polluting, and costly diesel generators that endanger patient health and safety while also harming the environment.
Model for Other Healthcare Centres
SEforALL hopes the project in Sierra Leone will serve as a model for powering hundreds more healthcare centres, both within the country and around the world. The project also aims to create opportunities to expand the local workforce specializing in renewable energy.
The Sierra Leone Healthcare Electrification Project also features a ‘Women in STEM’ programme that trains twelve young women in project planning and execution. This programme provides vital, practical experience to help participants advance their careers in the emerging renewable energy field.
SEforALL is calling on all stakeholders to come together and invest in renewable, reliable energy solutions for low-income countries. This effort aligns with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 7, which aims to transform the healthcare sector.
Installing solar power systems in these six Sierra Leonean hospitals is a critical step toward enhancing healthcare delivery and saving lives. This achievement underscores the urgent need for continued investment in sustainable energy to tackle similar healthcare challenges in other low-income countries.
