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. The deficit is the reason why only 26.7 percent 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, supplies safe, and carry out procedures and to handle emergency cases that occur at night.
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.
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.
A reliable power supply at 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.
“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 the Kabala Government Hospital, Dr. Alie Dauda Tarawalie, who now describes his hospital as the city of light.
“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 the 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 said, “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 gases into the air and most often make very loud noise which disturbs 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.
According to Maurice Ferenkeh Koroma, most of facilities, particularly those in the rural areas and last mile communities don’t have access to electricity and those in the urban areas, are mainly those closer to the national grid, and even that is irregular. This inconsistent supply of energy to healthcare facilities affects quality service delivery and health outcomes.
This new solution will improve health outcomes significantly, according to Dr. Austin Demby. “It will reduce maternal mortality and improve infant survival and it is the right contribution to what we want to see in Sierra Leone.”