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Powering Health

Electrification Options for Developing Country Health Facilities

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked questions and answers about the Powering Health web portal developed by USAID.

The Powering Health web portal is developed and managed by USAID’s Energy Team, Office of Infrastructure & Engineering.

What is Powering Health?

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.

Why Powering Health?

World-wide donor efforts to improve health services in developing countries have put a variety of new stresses on aging health facility infrastructure. Health sector support programs have often added a significant amount of new electrical loads to health facilities without a coorespoding improvement in the energy system. Many efforts to improve energy services at health facilities have had limited success as a results of insufficient attention to institutional support structures, poor system design, insufficient maintenance funds, etc. In some countries, it is not uncommon to find up to 50% of off-grid health facility energy systems inoperable. Powering Health is designed to address these challenges.

What does Powering Health provide?

Powering Health provides a broad set of tools to assist those wishing to explore, evaluate, design, procure and operate health facility energy systems. Powering Health incorporates best practices and lessons learned from health clinic electrification projects in developing countries.

How can Powering Health help?

Powering Health will help you to identify your energy options, determine appropriate technology solutions, design and operate your energy system, manage your energy needs, identify sustainability issues, and utilize the best available tools, including technical standards and terms of reference.

Who can use Powering Health?

Powering Health is designed for a broad range of potential users. It is designed with multiple layers of complexity so that health sector staff, funding entities, and energy experts alike can access relevant information.

What can Powering Health do for you?

You can learn to:

  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.

How can you help?

Powering Health is an evolving resource. Please email your comments, suggestions, and ideas for improving Powering Health.