Solar health centres in South Kivu, DRC

 Through this project, GIERI would like to bring access to solar electricity in 2 medical centres in south Kivu DR Congo. This will facilitate communication, education, and improve the health care system in these areas. Today these centres have neither grid electricity nor electricity through own generators. In fact, through electricity there will be lighting, and the centre will be able to function better even during the night, being able to use some electronic medical equipment and improve the storage of the medicines. This will facilitate even the recovery of patients. Furthermore, with the electricity these health centres will be able to use other electronics devices such as computers, respirator etc..

Currently, many communities, villages in South Kivu are cut off from the use of new technology and be connected to the world due to the lack of electricity. The Shabunda, Walungu and Kabare territories are some of the most isolated territories in South Kivu. The roads are in a bad situation and there is no grid electricity in these areas. Shabunda is the largest territory in South Kivu province, covering more than 25,000 square kilometers, and home to over a million people but there is no grid electricity. Moreover, there has been humanitarian crisis in this region since 1996 due to the war: thousands of people have been killed, more than 500.000 women raped, and many children left as orphans in the Eastern DRC.

 Located in the eastern part of the DRC, the province of South Kivu occupies 3% of the country’s area, or 69,130 km². It is limited to the east by Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania, to the north by the North Kivu province, to west by Maniema and South by Katanga. The average annual temperatures vary between 11 ° C and 25 ° C with average sunshine hours 12h year runt. Due to the war that occurred since 1996, the poverty rate in this province reaches 84.7%. This makes the South Kivu to be counted among provinces that have higher incidence of poverty. Her population is very young (half are under 15 years old).

Many health centres in these areas struggle with a very basic issue—a lack of access to electricity. Access to electricity in this province is very rare especially in rural areas where the health centre cannot provide better services due to lack of electricity.

 However, despite the South Kivu province’s potential and its exposure on the sunshine, the solar energy system isn’t used or exploited fully here.

The access rate to electricity of the population even in urban area remains very low. In rural areas there is no grid electricity. Due to the lack of electricity in this area, people rely on other sources of energy as motor engine with fuel to light their houses. Other use dangerous fuel and this cause fire in many houses. In addition, the use of fuel increases the production of greenhouse gaz.

To improve the access to electricity in South Kivu territories, this project will be implemented in DRC, first in 3 villages of Shabunda, Kabare and Walungu. These chosen areas have no grid electricity at all. There is not a planning program from the government to bring electricity in these areas in coming years. The areas are also isolated with poor infrastructures and poverty within the population. In these villages, people get around by motorcycle when they can. Otherwise, they have to walk, often for hours. Furthermore, people in these villages suffer also from the war between armed groups in the area, making movement from one place to another even more difficult. The project aims at installing solar energy kits and its accessories to 2 medical centres in the forementioned territories.This will impact the conservation of some medical equipment or taking care of patients during the night. Because of the lack of electricity, medical centres are not able to store some medicine like ocytocin for injection which is very important during the labour and the ampicillin for injection.Furthermore, the installation of the PV at the medical centre and the centre for raped women will help to fight insecurity in the target areas. In fact, through electrification there will be a light during the night in that area and the criminality or thief can be reduced.

What is the status quo?

The eastern DRC (South Kivu and north Kivu regions) has been a war zone since 1996. With the conflict present in the region for such a long-time span, many families have been living in extreme poverty. As consequences:

-        More than 90% of population in South Kivu do not have access to electricity because of poor distribution of natural resources and poor governance.

-        Due to the lack of electricity, the health centres in rural areas are providing a bad service to patients. They cannot store medicines in appropriate way, they cannot perform surgery during the night or in an emergency way they are using candles, kerosene lamps. pregnant women are not getting appropriate health treatment during the delivery. This has been a leading cause of death of many new-born. Moreover, are the maternal mortality in these areas very high due to complications related to pregnancy or childbirth.

-        Since 1996, the Shabunda region has been as many other territories in the eastern DR Congo the conflict zone.

-        The rural areas of South Kivu province in the DRC in general and in the territories of Shabunda continue to remain isolated, in darkness and underdeveloped due to lack of access to electricity.

Because of the lack of the electricity at the medical centre in rural areas, women are going through a medical surgery or give birth during the night without a proper light. So often they are using the candle or a kerosene lamp at the medical centre during these sensitive operations.

Furthermore, in rural areas many people have been disappointed with the use of the solar energy because people who introduced them for the first time, gave them materials of bad quality and bad installation.

In rural areas where the project will be conducted, the chosen medical health centres with PV will be able to use only the basic electronic instruments such as: defibrillator /cardioverter, autoclave (other steriliser instruments), ultrasound, cooling system (fridge). Many of them will not have even a dialyse instruments or X-ray and MRI scanning system. With this it will not be complicate to install the solar energy to them since they are using the basic of instruments that do not take so much energy.

In addition, the poverty in these areas is extreme. Many families are living with an in income of 1 $ per day. There are some business owners that are using generator and people pay 0,5$ to charge the mobile phone. This can be very difficult for these vulnerable raped women to afford the cost related to the charging of their mobile phone. As a result, many are not connected to the mobile phone.