Skip to: Primary Navigation | Secondary Navigation | Page Content

Powering Health

Electrification Options for Developing Country Health Facilities

About

PoweringHealth.org is a web based knowledge portal designed by USAID's Energy Team for all those seeking options to provide reliable electricity to power health clinics and facilities in developing countries.

“We work with a district hospital in Rwanda that often operates without any water or electricity. They have a huge generator but do not have the money to use it for a full day. They cannot run the lab equipment or the x-ray without starting the generator. The phone is powered by a small solar panel that has a bad battery, so when there is cloud cover, the phone disconnects. Lighting in the hospital is minimal.”

— Jeroen van’t Pad Bosch, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

Electricity is an increasingly essential commodity in developing country healthcare facilities. Recent improvements in the distribution of vaccines and other cold chain-dependent supplies, as well as the global push to deliver antiretroviral drugs and services to HIV-positive patients worldwide, have introduced new demands for electricity in sites with little or no access to reliable power.

Over the years, significant effort and funds have been dedicated to providing energy services to health facilities – with a particular focus on expanding the vaccination cold chain. Unfortunately, many of these efforts have proven not to be sustainable over the long term.

PoweringHealth.org is a website designed by USAID’s Energy Team for all those seeking to provide continuous and high quality power to health facilities in developing countries. Although it is nearly always preferable for a health facility to purchase such power from an independent party, (e.g. Utility, Entrepreneur, etc) – such an option is not always economically or technically viable. For instance, many developing country health facilities are connected to a national grid which provides intermittent and poor quality power. Improving the quality of that power often requires significant institutional reforms and capital expenditures which are long term endeavors and are outside the manageable interest of a given health sector support program. Many other health facilities have no access to grid power and/or intermittent, poor quality power from a local mini-grid.

In these cases a health facility must rely on on-site power generation, storage, and conditioning technologies to ensure continuous and high quality power supplies. This website discusses some of the key issues necessary to make on-site technologies successful and sustainable.

A smiling male health worker posing in the operating room of a health facility.

A health facility worker at a clinic in Kigali, Rwanda has sufficient energy for this high-powered light that is required for complex medical procedures. (Photo: Walt Ratterman)

The objective of Poweringhealth.org is to improve the success rate of health facility electrification efforts. It is targeted at a wide range of users – from local health workers to international donors and ministry officials – with multiple layers of increasingly technical information. Information is provided to help the user weigh the pros and cons of various energy systems with a focus on ensuring the sustainability of solutions and disseminating international best practices.

The website is designed around a step-wise approach to understanding a health facility’s energy needs and designing an energy system to meet those needs in a cost effective way. The steps include the following:

  1. Identify your health center’s current energy demands;
  2. Determine whether your energy demands will change in the near-term;
  3. Establish energy target in terms of kilowatt hours per day (kWh/day);
  4. Assess, evaluate, and select the most appropriate technology needed to meet the target;
  5. Design system, procure, and install technology with the help of an expert; and
  6. Operate, maintain, and manage your energy system.

The first three steps are supported by quantitative tools for conducting an energy audit, energy load calculation, and energy system optimization. The tools consist of interactive data tables where users can input information on health center energy needs and determine energy targets. The tools will also enable users to select the appropriate energy system based on a life-cycle cost analysis.

To date, the methodology outlined on Powering Health.org has been implemented in collaboration with the USG PEPFAR program in Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, and Rwanda. The full country assessment reports can be found here.

Four men in blue jumpsuits lower an array of four photovoltaic panels into place on the roof of a health clinic in Kigali, Rwanda.

Installation of photovoltaic panels on the roof of a health clinic in Kigali, Rwanda. (Photo: Walt Ratterman)

One of the primary objectives of Powering Health is to collect and disseminate international best practices. Several case studies are highlighted on the site, and users are encouraged to email case studies, experiences, best practices and other comments to the USAID Energy Team.

For more information on Powering Health see Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).