Lacking reliable access to electricity, one in four healthcare facilities in sub-Saharan Africa struggle to provide quality care, resulting in poor outcomes like high infant and maternal mortality.

Hospitals and clinics need electricity for a myriad of reasons, from lighting and heating to running efficient client data systems as well as refrigerating vaccines and blood banks. Yet in Kenya, most health information systems are still paper-based.

By providing off-grid healthcare centres with relevant technologies and tools, Afya Research Africa (ARA) aims at leveraging productive use of energy to promote medical progress in the poorest rural areas of Kenya.

Coupling the installation of decentralised solar and information management systems, ARA unlocks efficiency gains at each stage of healthcare delivery, saving cost and time while increasing the level of care, especially for young mothers.

Even though COVID-19 is bringing new challenges for staff training and data collection, ARA has the ambition to expand its impact on community livelihoods, recruiting more patients, reducing OPEX and attracting new investments to grow its business model.

Before, we were forced to refer patients, including women in labour, to other hospitals during blackouts. Solar power enables us to work around the clock without putting patients at risk.

Nurse at Madiany Sub-County Hospital.

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