Energy poverty has left more than 1 billion people in developing countries without access to adequate healthcare, with staff forced to treat emergency patients in the dark, and health centres lacking the power they need to store vaccines or sterilise medical supplies, according to a report.
In India, nearly half of all health facilities – serving an estimated 580 million people – lack electricity, according to this year's Poor People's Energy Outlook, published by the NGO Practical Action.
255 million people are served by health centres without electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, it says, where over 30% of facilities lack power.
In Kenya, for example, only 25% of facilities have a reliable energy supply, and blackouts happen at least six times a month, for an average of 4.5 hours at a time. This "directly affects services such as childbirth and emergency treatment, and limits night-time services. It can also lead to wasted vaccines, blood and medicines that require constant storage temperatures. Backup generators can be extremely expensive," the report says.
The report also estimates that half of primary school students in developing countries – more than 291 million children – go to schools without access to electricity. For many, this could mean struggling with cold, damp and poorly ventilated rooms, which can exacerbate health problems. In sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest rate of primary school access to electricity, at 35%, compared with 48% in south Asia and 93% in Latin America. In some sub-Saharan African countries, such as Burundi, only 2% of primary schools have electricity.
In India, nearly half of all health facilities – serving an estimated 580 million people – lack electricity, according to this year's Poor People's Energy Outlook, published by the NGO Practical Action.
255 million people are served by health centres without electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, it says, where over 30% of facilities lack power.
In Kenya, for example, only 25% of facilities have a reliable energy supply, and blackouts happen at least six times a month, for an average of 4.5 hours at a time. This "directly affects services such as childbirth and emergency treatment, and limits night-time services. It can also lead to wasted vaccines, blood and medicines that require constant storage temperatures. Backup generators can be extremely expensive," the report says.
The report also estimates that half of primary school students in developing countries – more than 291 million children – go to schools without access to electricity. For many, this could mean struggling with cold, damp and poorly ventilated rooms, which can exacerbate health problems. In sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest rate of primary school access to electricity, at 35%, compared with 48% in south Asia and 93% in Latin America. In some sub-Saharan African countries, such as Burundi, only 2% of primary schools have electricity.
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