Zimbabwe’s Solar for Health Initiative

Last updated: 2 August 2023

In 2017, Zimbabwe launched the Solar for Health (S4H) Initiative in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, and with financial support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The initiative aims to use Zimbabwe’s solar resources to power health clinics in remote areas. Before the S4H Initiative, more than two-thirds of health clinics in Zimbabwe only had access to electricity for about four hours a day. As of 2018, Zimbabwe had installed solar PV systems in over 400 health facilities, benefitting over 6.5 million individuals across the country. Installation of additional solar systems in 640 health facilities is ongoing and expected to be completed by the end of 2021. By providing reliable access to electricity for healthcare facilities in poor, remote and rural areas, S4H has accelerated progress toward universal health coverage. In particular, Zimbabwe has targeted communities affected by AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, as well as pregnant women and children under the age of five. 

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