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Powering Health

Electrification Options for Developing Country Health Facilities

Health Clinics Need Reliable Energy

In health facilities, energy keeps vaccines cool and effective; powers critical lights and equipment; facilitates communication and record-keeping; and helps improve preventive and critical care.

Computerized blood analysis machine with a point-of-use UPS system.
Power Medical Equipment

A stable and reliable power supply is essential for health facilities to run refrigerators, operate diagnostic equipment, and provide lighting for evening deliveries and procedures. Power anomalies can damage sensitive and expensive laboratory equipment, air-conditioners, electronics, and x-ray machines.

Blood and vaccine supplies inside a small medical refrigerator.
Store Cold Chain Dependent Supplies

A lack of or an unsteady power supply can result in the destruction of cold-chain dependent blood, testing reagents, vaccines, ARV drugs, and rapid test kits. Electrification of health clinics helps preserve the cold chain. Data examined for six countries found that the cold chain was significantly stronger in electrified clinics than in those without electricity.

Medical patients wait on several long crowded wooden benches in a room with brick walls and a high ceiling with several bright skylights.
Improve Health Services

Intermittent or unavailable power can limit the ability of health facilities to deliver basic and preventive care and treatment to local populations. Health facilities can benefit directly from electrification by having longer opening hours. An analysis of health facility survey data for two countries – Bangladesh and Kenya – found that electrified clinics are indeed open for, on average, one hour longer each day.

A female medical lab technician performs tests on blood samples arrayed in test tubes.
Attract and Retain Staff

Electrified health facilities and staff quarters can help to attract staff to rural areas and reduce staff absenteeism. In Bangladesh, a study found that health workers were significantly more likely to live in the same community as the facility if there was electricity – and that living locally greatly reduced the probability of the worker being absent from the facility for the whole day.