TRANSFORMING NIGERIA’S RURAL HEALTH CARE WITH CLEAN AND RELIABLE ENERGY

Nigeria is often referred to as the ‘Giant of Africa’ due to her large population of over 200 million people and her vast economy which often attracts foreign investments. However, the ‘Giant of Africa’ is no giant when it comes to quality health-care systems and infrastructural services. According to the WHO, Nigeria ranked 187th of 191 countries in the World’s health systems ranking in 2019, joining the list of countries with some of the worst health indicators in the world ^[1].

Among the many problems troubling the Nigerian health sector is the lack of sufficient and reliable power supply, which continually threatens the well-being of millions of Nigerians, especially women and children in rural communities. The UN global report estimates that more than 300,000 women a year die in childbirth or as a result of complications arising from pregnancy ^[2]. In their report, Nigeria ranked among the 10 worst maternal mortality rates in the world^[2].

This is not surprising as there have been many reports of doctors in rural areas, performing surgeries and carrying out pregnancy deliveries using torchlights, lamps and even mobile phone flashlights ^[3]. This is a serious systemic problem in our medical system that caused the untimely deaths of many.

In a publication, a Nigerian doctor narrated how he tragically lost four patients in intensive care unit because of power outage ^[4]. Unfortunate events like this can be averted in future with the provision of better lighting and other clean energy sources in our health facilities. With over 206 grid collapses in ten years and predictions of more to occur in future, key players in our health sector need to fully embrace the many benefits of clean energy. As the demand for electricity in the country rises, alternative sources of energy should be embraced as our current power grid was not built to meet these demands.

THE WAY FORWARD 

The first step to transforming our health care system is to understand the intuitive links between the energy and health-care. It is important to note that energy services play a vital role in building an efficient and reliable healthcare system. At Energymall Nigeria, our mission is to solve Africa’s energy problems by providing clean, renewable and efficient energy that will ensure a health-care system of reputable standard.

We offer our energy efficient services to health-care facilities by providing them with solar system installations, energy audits, proper electrical wiring and lighting designed to meet all their energy needs. With recent projects at Reddington hospital complex, Ikeja and a health care facility in Victoria Island, Lagos, we are one step closer to achieving our goal of being Nigeria’s go-to company for all things clean energy.

In this regard, for Nigeria to meet the UN sustainable development goals that centers on achieving good health and clean energy by 2030, we need to make quality healthcare our priority now.

For inquires Email us: info@energymall.ng 

Sources:

1. https://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html
2. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/sep24/why-do-women-die-giving-birth#
3. https://www.howng.com/see-nigerian-doctors-perform-surgeries-torchlights-lamps-hospital/
4. https://www.gradianhealth.org/punch-nigeria-patients-dying-lack-oxygen-nigerian-hospitals/