The planted solar panels are all in full operation providing 24 hours electricity in at the Kambia Government Hospital
The Electricity Sector in Sierra Leone faces a lot of challenges. The country’s power sector has a capacity of about 100 MW, whereas it requires 500 MW of interrupted power to its citizens. The deficit is the reason why only 26.7 % of the total population currently has access to electricity.
Electricity cost in Sierra Leone is among one of the highest in Africa. This inevitably affects the health sector. Recent health surveys have estimated that approximately 38% of health facilities do not have any source of electricity (SDI, 2018). Hospitals and healthcare facilities require reliable supply of electricity to keep equipment running, store supplies safely, and carry out procedures and to handle emergency cases that occur at night.
Every ward in the Kabala Government Hospital is well lit up with patients and care health workers now enjoying the facility.
This situation makes it impossible for hospitals to function optimally, putting the population at risk. This has been one of the contributing factors for the poor maternal and infant mortality rates in Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone has made significant progress in reducing maternal mortality rate from 717 per 100,000 to 443 per 100,000. The Ministry of Health, under the leadership of Dr. Austin Demby, aims to reduce these figures to under 300 per 100, 000 by 2025 and to under 70 per 100, 000 by 2030. It is a huge challenge, but the Minister and his team are ambitious and determined to make this happen.
A nurse busy administering care to a patient at the Kabala Government Hospital.
One way the Ministry wants to address this challenge is by investing more in renewable energy at healthcare facilities. The Government of Sierra Leone has accelerated reforms in the energy sector through programs such as Rural Renewable Energy Project. The efforts have been complemented by various projects and partners such as World Bank, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP, FCDO etc.
Reliable power supply of hospitals is of high priority, and the ministry, through funding from FCDO, has now completed the electrification of six hospitals using renewable energy of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems with batteries. The six hospitals include Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (PCMH), Ola During Children’s Hospital (ODCH), Bonthe Government Hospital, Kambia Government Hospital, Kabala Government Hospital and Masanga Hospital.
Matron Sama Conteh of Kabala Government Hospital is very excited about the new electricity development in her hospital.
“They have been tested and they are up and running. We have just got additional funding to solarize 11 more secondary hospitals,” says Maurice Ferenkeh Koroma, Health Facility
Electrification Project Lead and Special Adviser to the Minister of Health on Programme Quality.
After the completion of the hospital in Kambia, the Matron, Sai Sama Conteh, could barely hold back her excitement. “I feel so elated about this solar installation, especially now that we can make use of the facility,” Matron Sama Conteh pointed out.
Similar sentiments were expressed by the Medical Superintendent of Kabala Government Hospital, Dr. Alie Dauda Tarawalie, who now describes his hospital as the city of light.
24 hours Electricity at the Kabala Government Hospital now means that doctors and nurses are able to provide quality health services to patients.
“I am the most excited person on earth. 70 to 80% of my worries were electricity. Even without work, sometimes at night I will just be around seeing the light. I just feel good and it is like a dream you know,” Dr. Tarawalie said.
President Bio and the Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby, have a vision. Their vision is to light up all healthcare facilities in a not too distant future. The current energy situation of most healthcare facilities comes with a lot of maintenance and running cost challenges, Minister Demby said.
He went on; “right now what we have is a system where you rely on the power grid. At times it comes on, at times it doesn’t. You rely on backup generators that are very expensive to run and in some cases it costs nearly 20% of the hospital budget. Clearly that’s not sustainable.” Dr. Demby points out.
These generators emit toxic gasses in the air and most often make very loud noise which disturb the peace and tranquility patients require. These make them unfit for purpose in an era of global climate crisis. The Ministry of Health has made a commitment to go green in the health sector.
“Going green means we want to ensure that health facilities have renewable, reproducible, and efficient energy; from hospitals all the way to primary healthcare units,” Dr. Demby said.
Maurice Ferenkeh Koroma, left, and Matron Sai Sama Conteh, right, inspecting the completed solar project in the Kambia Government Hospital.
This new solution will improve health outcomes significantly, according to Dr. Austin Demby, and it will reduce maternal mortality and improve infant survival and it is the right contribution to what we want to see in Sierra Leone.
