2019 Conference
Harnessing renewable energy and energy efficiency to create stronger, more resilient health systems
InterContinental Hotel
Nairobi, Kenya
April 24-25, 2019
| Organized by: |  |
| In collaboration with
the World Health Organization and: |
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About
The United Nations Foundation, together with our partners, hosted a conference on Clean Energy for Health Care in Nairobi, Kenya from April 24-25, 2019 that brought together key energy and health sector stakeholders, including policymakers, development partners, practitioners, funders, and NGOs to promote the role of clean energy in creating stronger and more resilient health systems in Africa.
It is estimated that one in four health facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa lacks access to electricity, and three in four facilities lack reliable power. This absence of adequate power impedes the delivery of quality health care. It leads to vaccine spoilage, interruptions in the use of essential medical and diagnostic devices, and lack of even the most basic lighting and communications for maternal delivery and emergency procedures. It also limits the hours of operation and retention of rural health workers and undermines the provision of adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene. Simply put, the capacity of Africa’s health systems – from community clinics to urban hospitals – to deliver adequate care is hugely hampered by the continent’s lack of access to electricity.
The conference brought together partners to:
- Raise awareness among policymakers to the importance of and the opportunity that renewable energy and energy efficiency play in creating stronger, more resilient health systems in Africa and why additional attention to and resources for this issue are urgently needed.
- Exchange knowledge and practical experiences in delivering energy services to health facilities in resource-constrained environments. Emphasis will be placed on how to improve upon the “business-as-usual” approach to powering health facilities, through innovations and best practices in fields such as decentralized renewable energy, energy-efficient medical devices, and financing/delivery models.
- Build a coalition in support of global action on clean energy and health care.
Program
Day 1: April 24 – Raising Ambition
The day helped to raise awareness among policy makers about the importance of and the opportunity that renewable energy and energy efficiency present in creating stronger, more resilient health systems in Africa and to why additional attention to and resources for this issue are urgently needed.
- Jem Porcaro, Senior Director for Energy Access, United Nations Foundation
- Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (video address), Director-General, World Health Organization View Video
- Rachel Kyte (video address), CEO and Special Representative for the Secretary-General, Sustainable Energy for All View Video
The opening Keynote Presentation set the scene- drawing on the latest data and developments to examine the current status, need and future of clean energy in health care.
- Jem Porcaro, Senior Director for Energy Access, UN Foundation, View Presentation
In this opening session, panelists discussed synergies between the sustainable energy and health agendas, including the need for closer cooperation between the energy and health sectors to maximize health benefits.
- Hon. Kandeh Yumkella (moderator), Member of Parliament, Sierra Leone
- Dr. Maria Neira, Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants, World Health Organization
The session provided a health care professional’s perspective on the importance of having adequate and reliable electricity to providing critical patient care.
- Dr. Marleen Temmerman (moderator), Director, Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health, Aga Khan University
- Dr. Evrard Nahimana, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Partners in Health
- Dr. Niall Conroy, Public Health Physician, Centre for Emergency Medical Science, University College Dublin & Project Bo
- Evaline Lang’at, Department of Health, Kilifi County Government
The session took a closer look at the current and growing demands for electricity in different types of health facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Rahul Srinivasan (moderator), Energy Specialist, The World Bank
- Jeff Lahl, Project Director, Solar Electric Light Fund View Presentation
- Emg. Sitra Mulepo, Senior Engineer, Ministry of Health, Uganda View Presentation
- Arne Jacobson, Director, Schatz Energy Research Center, Humboldt State University View Presentation
The session examined the role and increasing use of decentralized clean energy technologies in delivering health care services to under-served communities.
- Christine Eibs Singer (moderator), Senior Advisor, Sustainable Energy for All
- Dr. Laura Stachel, Executive Director and Co-Founder, We Care Solar View Presentation
- Thomas Rieger, Director, Marketing and Sales, Solarkiosk View Presentation
- Saleban Omar, Senior Regional Programme Advisor, UNDP View Presentation
The session provided empirical evidence of the links between energy access and health service provision.
- Dr. Rebekah Shirley (moderator), Director of Research, Power for All
- Dena Javadi, Technical Officer, World Health Organization View Presentation
- Sasmita Patnaik, Programme Lead, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) View Presentation
- Ivy Syovata, Business Development Manager, Philips View Presentation
Day 2: April 25 – Building Blocks of Success
The day facilitated the exchange of knowledge and practical experiences around key building blocks for delivering energy services to health facilities in resource-constrained environments.
The session examined different business models for electrifying health facilities with decentralized clean energy solutions. Stakeholders will discuss challenges and lessons learned in delivering and financing solutions and discuss new and emerging approaches that could help to ensure the financial sustainability and scalability of interventions.
- Jem Porcaro (moderator), Senior Director for Energy Access, United Nations Foundation
- Christine Eibs Singer, Senior Associate, Catalyst Off-Grid Advisors View Presentation
- Selestino Babungi, Managing Director, UMEME Limited
- Raihan Elahi, Lead Energy Specialist, The World Bank
Location: Mara North Ballroom
The session explored the progress being made in the design of health technologies and medical devices tailored to low-resource settings. It will bring together manufacturers, practitioners and other stakeholders to discuss how to innovate and adapt medical devices in an effort to ensure adequate health services for all.
- Patricia Wamala-Mucheri (moderator), Deputy Country Director, Uganda, Clinton Health Access Initiative
- Nyamolo Abagi, Manager, East Africa, CLASP View Presentation
- Ivy Syovata, Business Development Manager, Philips
- Cicilia Magare, Climate Mitigation Unit, UN Environment View Presentation
Location: Loita Room
The session examined different monitoring and evaluation strategies for health facility electrification programs, with a view towards building consensus on how to measure their impact.
- Dr. Evrard Nahimana (moderator), Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Partners in Health
- Dena Javadi, Technical Officer, World Health Organization View Presentation
- Dr. Laura Stachel, Co-founder and Executive Director, We Care Solar View Presentation
- Carsten Hellpap, GIZ View Presentation
Location: Mara North Ballroom
The session explored common pitfalls and best practices in quality assurance for the design, installation and maintenance of off-grid energy solutions at health facilities.
- Aisha Abdulaziz (moderator), Energy Consultant, The World Bank
- Meg Harper, Research Engineer, Schatz Energy Research Center, Humboldt State University View Presentation
- Sitra Mulepo, Senior Engineer, Ministry of Health, Uganda
- Sam Dargan, Founder and CEO, Great Lakes Energy
- Eng. Ajeiigbe A. Jacob, Assistant Director, Off-grid and Energy Efficiency, Federal Ministry of Power, Works & Housing, Nigeria
Location: Loita Room
The panel discussed the unique challenges and opportunities for using decentralized clean energy solutions to help deliver health care in crisis and humanitarian settings.
- Luc Severi (moderator), Manager, Energy Access, UN Foundation
- Maria Ten Palomares, Energy Project Developer, Medecins Sans Frontieres View Presentation
- Mikael Clason Hook, Co-founder, Kube Energy
- Talal Kanaan, Energy Specialist
The session brought together representatives from the health, energy and rural development sectors to discuss policy practices and gaps for enabling better delivery of health services to under-served populations, using decentralized clean energy solutions as a catalyst. Representatives examined how to facilitate inter-sectoral cooperation at different levels of decision making to design effective policies and programmes.
- Salvatore Vinci (moderator), Deputy Director, Country Support and Partnerships, IRENA
- Dr. Maria Neira, Director, Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organization
- Eng. Isaac Kiva, Director of Renewable Energy, Ministry of Energy, Kenya
- Nawa Raj Dhakal, Director, Alternative Energy Promotion Centre, Nepal (AEPC)
- Bentoe Tehoungue, Director of Family Health, Ministry of Health, Liberia
Featured Speakers
Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Video Address)
World Health Organization
Rachel Kyte (Video Address)
CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair, UN Energy
Dr. Maria Neira
Director, Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organization
Hon. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella
Member of Parliament, Sierra Leone
Conference Speakers
Eng. Ajeiigbe A. Jacob
Assistant Director, Renewable and Rural Power Access Department, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Federal Republic of Nigeria
Aisha Abdulaziz
Energy Consultant, The World Bank
Arne Jacobson
Schatz Center Director, Humboldt University
Bentoe Tehoungue
Director, Department of Family Health, Republic of Liberia
Dr. Carsten Hellpap
Principal Advisor for Energy Access, GIZ
Christine Eibs Singer
Senior Advisor, Sustainable Energy for All
Cicilia Magare
Climate Mitigation Unit, UN Environment
Dena Javadi
Technical Officer, World Health Organization
Evaline Lang’at
Department of Health, Kilifi County Government
Dr. Evrard Nahimana
Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Partners in Health
Eng. Isaac Kiva
Secretary for Renewable Energy, Ministry of Energy, Kenya
Ivy Syovata
Business Development Manager, Community Life Centers, Philips
Jeff Lahl
Project Director, Solar Electric Light Fund
Jem Porcaro
Senior Director for Energy Access, United Nations Foundation
Laura Stachel
Co-founder and Executive Director, We Care Solar
Luc Severi
Manager, Energy Access, United Nations Foundation
Maria Ten Palomares
Energy Project Developer, Médecins Sans Frontières
Prof. Dr. Marleen Temmerman
Director, Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health, Aga Khan University
Meg Harper
Senior Research Engineer, Schatz Center, Humboldt University
Mikael Höök
Co-founder, Kube Energy
Nawa Raj Dhakal
Director, Alternative Energy Promotion Centre, Nepal (AEPC)
Dr. Niall Conroy
Public Health Physician, Project Bo
Nyamolo Abagi
Manager, East Africa, CLASP
Patricia Wamala-Mucheri
Deputy Country Director, Uganda, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)
Rahul Srinivasan
Energy Specialist, The World Bank
Raihan Elahi
Lead Energy Specialist, The World Bank
Dr. Rebekah Shirley
Director of Research, Power for All
Saleban Omar
Senior Regional Advisor HIV, Health and Development, UNDP
Sam Dargan
Founder and CEO, Great Lakes Energy
Salvatore VInci
Deputy Director, Country Support and Partnerships, IRENA
Sasmita Patnaik
Programme Lead, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)
Selestino Babungi
Managing Director, UMEME Limited
Sitra Mulepo
Senior Engineer, Ministry of Health, Uganda
Talal Kanaan
Independent Consultant
Thomas Rieger
Director, Marketing and Sales, SOLARKIOSK
Contact
For more information about the Conference please contact: info@poweringhc.org