Delegation from MoH being educated on how solar energy is harnessed in extreme weather conditions
In a bid to alleviate the intermittent energy crisis and high energy cost plaguing the Ghanaian health sector, the Ministry of Health is collaborating with a renewable energy company, REDEX International GmbH based in Essen, Germany.
REDEX and its partner, STEAG Energy Services GmbH, also based in Essen - Germany are together, a forerunner in the renewable energy sector.
These partners have expertise in the design and construction of on-shore wind technology, on-grid and off-grid solar and bioenergy solutions for governments and non-governmental institutions and agencies.
The project will cover all regional hospitals, some district hospitals, teaching hospitals, nursing schools and 2000 CHPS– these CHPS compounds are currently not connected to the national grid.
The purpose of the project is to provide a sustainable source of energy to the health facilities in order to properly facilitate the effective distribution of health services.
It is an attempt by the Ministry to add to the power generation of this country as well as resource the Regional and District hospitals to independently operate and generate their own source of power in the form of solar energy.
Not only is the project providing solar energy for regular use, it also involves the use of Vaccine Refrigerators from the world-renowned B-Medicals – a leading manufacturer of medical equipment.
There are currently over two thousand (2000) Community Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds which are off the national grid. A large number of these are sited in remote areas which are themselves either not connected or have limited electrical connectivity.
The Ministry of Health is concerned about the lack of power to these CHPS compounds since this does not allow effective distribution of health service to the communities which are in dire need of them.
There have been countless reports of medical emergencies having to be attended to under less than ideal energy circumstances. In some cases, medicines that must be kept under strict temperature conditions end up getting destroyed and patients who need them are left without. This invariably causes huge losses to the state in the form of material and human resources.
A delegation led by the Deputy Minister of Health, Hon Tina Naa Ayeley Mensah, visited REDEX International GmbH and its partner, STEAG Energy Services GmbH, in Germany to assess some of their work while gaining information on the way the solar energy will be harnessed.
The government has set up a joint technical committee to oversee the full implementation of the project.
REDEX International, on the other hand has successfully carried out feasibility studies on all the proposed sites of the project which will be spread all over the country.
The project is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2019 with about 2000 CHPs compounds, each being connected to 5kWp of solar energy.
