Nairobi Conference Champions Clean Energy for Africa’s Hospitals

Africa Science News

By Edwin Austin

 

The Energizing Healthcare 2025 conference, held in Nairobi from February 3 to 4, concluded with a resounding call to prioritize the electrification of healthcare facilities across Africa, leveraging clean energy solutions.

The two-day summit, co-organized by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), the World Health Organization (WHO), and Kenya’s Ministries of Health and Energy, brought together global, continental and regional policymakers, experts, investors, and innovators to address the critical energy gaps in healthcare systems across the Global South.

Engineer Stephen Nzioka, Director of Renewable Energy at Kenya’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, highlighted the dire state of energy access in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“So far we’ve electrified over 250,000 targeted individuals and for public facilities, we have 343 that are supposed to be electrified, 284 of which are health facilities through the Kenya Solar Access Project. We hope by 2030 we’ll have achieved 100% electrification,” he asserted, noting that the existing gaps severely hinder access to diagnostics, life-saving treatments, and medical services.

Salvatore Vinci, WHO’s Technical Lead for Healthcare Facilities Electrification, emphasized the potential of decentralized solar systems to provide reliable, climate-resilient, and cost-effective energy solutions.

He called for leveraging Africa’s abundant clean energy resources, to power off-grid health facilities, particularly in remote areas. “We need to leverage decentralized solar systems that are reliable, climate-resilient, and cost-effective to transform healthcare delivery in Africa.”

His words were echoed by Waltaji Terfa Kutane, from WHO, who noted that, “Integrating energy solutions into healthcare facilities is crucial for saving lives, as it ensures the provision of essential WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) and health care waste management) services. This integration should start from the concept and inception stages, including feasibility study, planning, financing, implementation and monitoring and evaluation.”

The conference featured high-level panel discussions, workshops, and fireside chats on topics such as financing healthcare electrification, improving coordination between energy and health sectors, and fostering community engagement. In an exclusive side chat with Dr. Godfrey Kadewele, Director of Health Technical Support Services, Ministry of Health, Malawi, we got to better understand the underlying issues stemming the full implementation of clean energy in Africa, with the main point pointed out by Dr. Kadewele being inadequate financing. This by his account, is the reason most African countries cannot fully go green.

The Malawian international also brought focus to the discussion on Carbon credits and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) which are two key instruments in the global effort to combat climate change and promote sustainable development.

While both aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they serve distinct purposes and operate differently. “In Africa, carbon credits are generated through projects such as reforestation, renewable energy installations, and sustainable agriculture. These credits are traded in voluntary or compliance markets, enabling companies and governments to offset their emissions while funding climate-friendly initiatives.”

On the other hand, he continued, “RECs are used to incentivize renewable energy production and help businesses meet sustainability goals. For instance, International Renewable Energy Certificates (I-RECs) connect African renewable energy projects with international buyers, driving investment in clean energy infrastructure.”

Suffice it to say, while carbon credits focus on offsetting emissions through diverse projects, RECs promote renewable energy generation and consumption and hence the need for increased African innovative financing.

Attendees were inspired by real-world impact stories shared, and we got a chance to engage Derick Nwasor a Nigerian scientist and innovator who gained recognition as part of a trio (alongside Egbe Joy and Oghale Yome) that won ROSATOM’s “Atoms for Africa” competition in 2019.

Derick Nwasor called for increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in finding innovative health solutions, noting that while its ethical considerations continue to linger, it should not stop scientists in Africa from seeking its full potential.

“With the rise of AI, it means that hospitals don’t have to be physical locations anymore. I see a future where hospitals can be reduced to an ambulance, with all the tools needed for diagnosis in there.

Thanks to AI there’s a possibility of mobile healthcare and it will open up a lot of opportunities for startups,” he affirmed.

The conference concluded with a commitment from stakeholders to accelerate action on healthcare electrification, pledging to strengthen alliances, share best practices, and address policy, funding, and capacity bottlenecks to ensure universal access to reliable energy in healthcare facilities.

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