Solar energy could power all health facilities in poorer countries and save lives, experts say

(The Guardian, 17 Nov 2023) Move would cost less than $5bn and cut toll of deaths from power outages and lack of supply, Cop28 delegates will hear.

All healthcare facilities in poorer countries could be electrified using solar energy within five years for less than $5bn, putting an end to the risk of life from power outages, experts will argue at Cop28 this month.

“I would like the international community to commit to a deadline and funding to electrify all healthcare facilities,” said Salvatore Vinci, an adviser on sustainable energy at the World Health Organization and a member of its Cop28 delegation. “We have solutions now that were not available 10 years ago – there is no reason why babies should be dying today because there is not electricity to power their incubators.

“It’s a low-hanging fruit. There is nothing stopping us,” he said.

About 1 billion people around the world do not have access to a healthcare facility with a stable electricity connection, including 433 million in low-income countries who rely on facilities with no electricity at all, according to the WHO’s Energising Health: Accelerating Electricity Access in Healthcare Facilities report, which was published in January, and co-authored by Vinci.

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The Guardian, 17 Nov 2023: Solar energy could power all health facilities in poorer countries and save lives, experts say