Samira Bawumia launches solar power initiative for underserved maternity facilities in Africa

Former Second Lady Samira Bawumia has launched the Powering Safe Delivery Initiative, a solar power program aimed at providing reliable electricity to underserved healthcare facilities in Ghana and across Africa. The initiative, in collaboration with the Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies at the University of Ghana and Minagie Energy, will equip selected Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds, maternity facilities, and primary healthcare centres with solar photovoltaic systems, battery storage, and essential maternal healthcare infrastructure.

The aim is to address the critical issue of electricity reliability in healthcare facilities, which affects the delivery of essential maternal and neonatal services, including nighttime deliveries, emergency procedures, medical monitoring, sterilisation, and the refrigeration of medicines and vaccines. According to the initiative, approximately 178,000 mothers and one million newborns die annually in Africa due to preventable causes, many of which are linked to unreliable electricity in healthcare settings.

Brief written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.