Guwahati: The Energy for Health Summit: North Eastern Region Chapter, hosted by SELCO Foundation in Guwahati on February 28th and 29th, 2024, showcased significant strides made by the ‘Energy for Health’ initiative. The initiative aims to solar power 25,000 health facilities across India, with a particular focus on the 8 states of the North East.
Representatives from all 8 states converged at the summit, contributing to the dialogue on making over 8500 primary healthcare facilities in the region climate-resilient. With a current count of over 1500 solar-powered facilities across the North East, SELCO Foundation aims to strengthen partnerships and strategies to achieve its ambitious goal of covering all facilities in the North Eastern Region by 2026.
The solar-powered facilities, distributed across the region, include approximately 489 in Meghalaya, 326 in Mizoram, 167 in Manipur, 467 in Assam, and 50+ in Nagaland. The initiative emphasises the critical role of reliable energy access in delivering timely and quality health services, powering life-saving equipment and ensuring proper storage for vaccines.
Dr. Meena Seram, State Nodal Officer, Maternal Health, Govt. of Manipur, expressed the positive impact of uninterrupted electricity on healthcare services. She noted, “Yes, the uninterrupted supply of electricity has provided us services. It has improved. And apart from that, they have also enhanced the activities of the facilities; the wellbeing of the staff has also improved.”
SELCO Foundation, known for pioneering decentralised energy for critical healthcare systems, employs an ecosystem approach, leveraging local, regional, and state-level partnerships. Rachita Misra, Associate Director, SELCO Foundation, highlighted the unique challenges of the North East, including remoteness, low population density, and challenging terrains, presenting opportunities for innovative delivery of health and energy services.
“The North East has very unique challenges of remoteness, low population density, and challenging terrains. This presents opportunities to innovate delivery of health as well as energy services. We invite NGOs, clean energy and medical technology enterprises, all levels of the health department and other government departments in the North East region to help achieve the goal of strengthening healthcare service delivery in the North East region,” said Rachita Misra.
The Operations and Maintenance (O&M) processes of the solar systems are designed for sustainability in partnership with State and District health departments and local clean energy enterprises. Automated remote monitoring systems for more predictive maintenance, appropriate training to health staff on basic utilization, and troubleshooting are key aspects to ensure sustainability.
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Ms. Ibamonlang Nongbri, State Program Manager, National Health Mission, Government of Meghalaya, expressed anticipation for sustainability at the health facility level. She stated, “I look forward to not just sustainability at the government level but self-sustainability at the health facility level. These are simple equipment and can be maintained at that level.”
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