The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced the award of grants totalling $2,620,650 to solar energy companies in sub-Saharan African countries.
The grants, Development Diaries understands, were awarded by Power Africa through USAID, according to a statement signed by the United States embassy.
It is understood that the grants will provide reliable, affordable off-grid electricity to nearly 300 healthcare facilities in sub-Saharan Africa.
The statement also said that nearly 60 percent of all healthcare facilities in sub-Saharan Africa had no access to electricity.
According to the embassy, only 34 percent of hospitals and 28 percent of health clinics have reliable, 24-hour access to power.
‘Energy is critical for powering essential devices, medical and sterilisation equipment, diagnostics, cold storage for vaccines and medication, information technology, and lights to enable the delivery of continuous health care services’, the statement read.
‘Efficient health services and responses to diseases – including COVID-19 – depend on reliable access to electricity’.
Havenhill Synergy Ltd. (Nigeria), KYA-Energy Group (Togo), Muhanya Solar Ltd. (Zambia), and Nanoé (Madagascar) are some of the companies Power Africa is awarding grants to.
Others are OffGridBox (Rwanda), OnePower (Lesotho), PEG Solar (Ghana), SolarWorks! (Mozambique), and Zuwa Energy (Malawi).
‘Solar energy holds great potential to expand and improve health care delivery in sub-Saharan Africa, and off-grid solar technology offers a clean, affordable, and smart solution to electrify healthcare facilities located beyond the reach of national electricity grids’, the statement quoted Power Africa Acting Coordinator, Mark Carrato, as saying.
‘Power Africa’s experience shows that off-grid solar energy systems can be rapidly deployed to even the most rural facilities’.
Additionally, Counsellor to USAID, Chris Milligan, said, ‘These awards demonstrate what we can accomplish when the public and private sectors join together to break down the barriers to reliable electricity for rural healthcare facilities’.
Power Africa is a U.S. government-led partnership that brings together the collective resources of over 170 public and private sector partners to double access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa.
Its goal is to add more than 30,000 megawatts of cleaner, more efficient electricity generation capacity and 60 million new home and business connections by 2030.
Source: USAID
Photo source: Oregon Department of Agriculture