Zambian clinics go off-grid solar as power cuts worsen

From the newsletter

Zambia has opened its first healthcare facility powered by solar under the Gavi Health Facility Solarisation Electrification (HFSE) program, which aims to connect 250 healthcare facilities across the country. This comes at a time when load-shedding is worsening, with the national utility now providing residential customers with only five hours of electricity per day.

• 25% of healthcare facilities across sub-Saharan Africa operate without any electricity, and only 28% report reliable power. The integration of renewable energy addresses a fundamental gap in infrastructure.

• Dependence on the unreliable grid could compromise vaccine storage, surgical sterilisation, and basic medical services in hospitals, resulting in loss of lives and poor health services in hospitals.

More details

• The $28 million solarisation program, funded by Gavi, is being implemented by the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF and the World Health Organisation. It is intended to reduce power disruptions significantly.

• The program is targeting 1,277 health facilities, including 250 in Zambia, Ethiopia, Uganda and Pakistan in Asia. Other similar healthcare initiatives taking form in Africa include  Uganda's Health Facility Solar Electrification Project, launched in July 2025 to solarise 250 health facilities, the SophiA Project, an EU-funded initiative which developed modular solar-powered systems designed for remote African healthcare settings in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Malawi, and Uganda, among others.

• Just last week, Zambia, through its national power utility ZESCO, announced loadshedding, outlining a five-hour on-supply time for residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers in different regions. For healthcare facilities, this load-shedding crisis has dire implications. Without reliable power, clinics cannot maintain vaccine cold chains, power surgical equipment, or provide adequate lighting for emergency procedures.

• Renewables actually integrate seamlessly with healthcare. Beyond general facility power, cold chain systems for vaccine storage benefit immensely from solar integration. Companies like Drop Access in Kenya have developed specialised solar-powered cold storage solutions like the Vaccibox, which has been deployed in Makueni County and other parts of Kenya. Be on the lookout for our interview with Drop Access next week to learn how solar is impacting the healthcare sector.

• The integration extends beyond simple solar PV systems to include hybrid solutions that combine solar with battery storage, generators, or other renewable sources to mitigate solar intermittency. Modern systems increasingly incorporate Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and open-source tools for automated monitoring and maintenance, reducing the need for human intervention and making operations more efficient. Remote monitoring capabilities allow for real-time performance tracking and preemptive maintenance, ensuring system reliability even in remote locations with limited technical staff.

• However, financing remains a big issue. The high upfront capital costs of renewable energy systems present significant barriers for healthcare facilities operating on constrained budgets. Successful implementation in the healthcare sector will require an overhaul of the financing mechanism, with the private sector given priority in project implementations. Moreover, policies and incentives that speak to health care institutions and their inclusion in the renewable energy revolution will enable proper penetration.

Our take

• Healthcare is yet another sector that stands to massively benefit from renewable and clean energy. Hospitals will not only cut down costs, but they will also run efficiently with no power interruption from unreliable grids.

• Looking ahead, the private sector will enable this massive leap. Not only are they economically empowered to facilitate the transition, but they also come with well-tenured manpower and industry knowledge to navigate complex projects in renewables.

• It is clear that clean energy will need to be integrated into every facet of human life. From healthcare, to education, academia, to technology and digitisation. Sectors that are left behind risk stunting the revolution and missing out on the benefits.