Achieving universal electrification of rural healthcare facilities in sub-Saharan Africa with decentralized renewable energy technologies

A potential response to the COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with long-term benefits is to provide electricity for medical equipment in rural health centers and communities. This study identifies a large gap in the electrification of healthcare facilities in SSA, and it shows that decentralized photovoltaic systems can offer a clean, reliable, quick, and cost-effective solution. The cost of providing renewable electricity to each health facility by a stand-alone PV system is analyzed for a given location (incorporating operational costs). The upfront investment cost for providing electricity with PV to >50,000 facilities (mostly primary health posts) currently without electricity is estimated at EUR 484 million. Analysis of the accessibility and population distribution shows that 281 million people could reduce their travel time to healthcare facilities (by an average of 50 min) if all facilities were electrified.