As governments design their coronavirus recovery packages, they are urged to include mini-grids and other clean energy for healthcare facilities
Barcelona — As Sierra Leone emerged from an Ebola epidemic in 2015, it was clear that health facilities lacking a reliable energy supply had been a big obstacle to treating patients. But putting solar panels on the roof of every clinic wasn’t the right answer either, as often such projects fall into disrepair within a year, said Nick Gardner, the Sierra Leone manager for the UN Office for Project Services .
But Sierra Leone’s success story wasn’t replicated widely in West Africa after the Ebola outbreak, energy experts said — though this time, with the coronavirus pandemic, they hope that will change. Experts have also flagged the importance of being able to reliably run refrigerators to store vaccines safely, especially if one becomes available for Covid-19
“You don’t have to convince people as much anymore, or show as much data,” she said. “There is such a need that is felt and an understanding that, one way or the other, this is going to help us meet [our] health goals.” The experts welcomed donor efforts to help developing countries take on the pandemic, such as the World Bank Group repurposing loans to Nigeria and Sierra Leone to procure solar-hybrid power systems for quarantine centres.
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