“It was one of those moments when as a mother about to give birth, I would feel very unsafe and anxious,” said Emelda Madlangove in Mhandamahwe, who recalls the ‘dark days’ after delivering her third child at the Mhandamahwe Rural Health Centre.  

A flick of a switch can change lives. Reliable electricity allows doctors to safely operate at night. It keeps vaccines and medicines cool, preserving their potency. And it powers IT systems needed to deliver quality healthcare, including digital patient records, laboratory test reports and supply chain operations.

Globally, nearly a billion people in low- and lower-middle income countries are served by health facilities with unreliable or no electricity. Clinics facing blackouts often rely on diesel generators, which add air pollution and fuel costs to already stretched health budgets.

“If there is no electricity for two days, our refrigerators are affected, and so is our cold chain,” said Judith Chamboko, Nurse in Charge at Nemwana Clinic, Zimbabwe.

Towards smart health systems

With financing from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) partners with governments and communities to equip health facilities with solar energy, which reliably powers essential services while reducing carbon emissions.

Green energy unlocks internet connectivity, health technology adoption and innovative financing mechanisms, boosting healthcare efficiency, sustainability and resilience.

In Zimbabwe, with support from the Global Fund and national partners, 1,072 health facilities have been equipped with solar power, reducing operational costs and avoiding 17,699 tonnes of CO2 in 2024 alone. Another 188 facilities will be upgraded by the end of 2025, bringing green energy to 70 percent of health facilities nationally.

“Getting energy from solar helps us reduce emissions and get a more affordable energy source,” Ruramai Makamure, Electrical Engineer at UNDP Zimbabwe noted.

Zimbabwe’s facilities also include distribution warehouses, which ensure medicines are safely stored and swiftly delivered to even the most remote areas, and national laboratories that test the safety of health products. Renovations and training have increased laboratory testing volume by 300 percent since 2014, expanding capacity to stop HIV, TB and malaria and other disease outbreaks.