Summary 

In 2017, the Government of Eswatini partnered with the Italian Government to initiate the Greening the RFM Hospital Demonstration Project. The two governments led by Eswatini’s Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs and Italy’s then Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea Protection - now Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security - signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cement the agreement of the constructing a 1 MW Solar PV Power Plant with battery storage, energy-efficient appliances (LEDs, heat pumps, efficient laundry systems), and the decommissioning of a coal-fired boiler. The Italian Government funded the project to the tune of 2.2 million Euros (over 44 million emalangeni).  

The execution of the project started in 2019 culminating to a sod-cutting ceremony in 2021 giving way to the implementation of the project that ended in 2025.

Background

The Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital was established in 1926 by the Church of the Nazarene. It has grown into a major referral and teaching hospital for the Manzini region and has been incorporated into a government entity under the Ministry of Health. The hospital has 350 beds, covering nearly 9,300 m² of facilities. The hospital plays a vital role in Eswatini’s healthcare system, handling around 500 outpatients daily, 15,000 hospitalizations, and 4,000 births each year. It serves the Manzini region – Eswatini’s densely populated region – and its catchment is roughly 350,000 people for the hospital.

Energy consumption used to be one of the major operational costs for the RFM Hospital, spending about 18,000 Euros (over 360 000 emalangeni) a month on electricity, negatively impacting its ability to deliver essential maternal and paediatric care services.

In addition, the hospital used to spend over 4,600 Euros (about 93, 000 emalangeni) on 105 tonnes of coal per year. The price of coal increased by over 240% post-COVID, not only placing a further strain on the hospital’s budget but also increasing the carbon footprint which was at 583 tonnes of CO₂ annually. Moreover, power cuts due to bad weather disrupted essential services.  

Project Outcomes 

• Reduced energy costs: from about 400,000 emalangeni/month (about 20 000 Euros) to below 200,000 emalangeni/month, yielding savings of 200,000 emalangeni+ (about 10 000 euros) per month.

• The hospital also saved about 300,000 emalangeni (about 15 000 euros) annually from eliminating coal use.

• The hospital previously consumed 35 tonnes of coal every 4 months. Transitioning to solar eliminated this, cutting approx. 583–586 tonnes of CO₂ annually – equivalent to removing 125 cars from the road.

  Download project flyer: Greening the RFM Demonstration Project