Electrification of Six Health Centres in Rhino Camp and Imvepi Refugee Settlements
Background
Uganda is one of the twenty countries with the largest population that lacks access to electricity, with only 43% of the population having access. The importance of reliable, sustainable and accessible energy for health centres is undebatable. Based on the results from the 2007 Uganda Service Provision, 58% of health facilities did not have access to electricity and only 15% had “reliable” electricity. When further disaggregated by type of health facility, 60 % of lower-level health facilities lack access. Given this background, the GIZ projects Energy Solutions for Displacement Settings (ESDS) and Energising Development (EnDev) intended to provide and install OGS PVS for 6 purposefully selected health centres located within Rhino Camp and Imvepi Refugee Settlements in Terego and Madi Okollo districts of Uganda in 2021. This article provides a summary of the baseline assessment results that was conducted in 2021 prior to the electrification of these six health centers.
Baseline Assessment Results
Selection of health centres
Five health facilities fall under the direct managing authority of the Ministry of Health (MOH) and one health facility is under the direct managing authority of International Rescue Committee (IRC). Regardless of managing authority, all health facilities receive support – technical, infrastructural, staffing, and other – from the Ministry of Health, a multitude of implementing partners, and UNHCR. The managing authority of health facilities have important implications on the engagement of stakeholders for ownership, maintenance, and sustainability of the OGS PVS assets.
General health facility characteristics (data collected from 2021 Baseline Health Facility Survey)
Health Center | Refugee Settlement | District | Health Facility Level | Managing Authority | Years of Service | Catchment Population | ||
Refugee | Host | Total | ||||||
Imvepi HC II | Imvepi | Terego | HC II | MOH | 26 | 19,668 | 3,224 | 22,892 |
Yinga HC III | Imvepi | Terego | HC III | MOH | 25 | 10,813 | 7.351 | 18,164 |
Siripi HC III | Rhino Camp | Terego | HC III | MOH | 27 | 13,090 | 5,500 | 18,590 |
Ofua HC III | Rhino Camp | Terego | HC III | IRC | 5 | 26,952 | Unknown | Unknown |
Ocea HC II | Rhino Camp | Madi Okollo | HC II | MOH | 26 | 18,428 | 3,729 | 22,157 |
Odoubu HC II | Rhino Camp | Madi Okollo | HC II | MOH | 29 | 12,461 | 4,500 | 16,961 |
Status of Electrification
None of the six health centres were connected to the national or community grid. However, all six health centres had at least one partially function OGS PVS and 3 health facilities had at least one diesel generator. Five had standalone EPI solar refrigerators to store and ensure cold chain of vaccines and oxytocin. Four had a We Care Solar installed to charge small devices, such as the HemoCue, Foetal Doppler, and mobile phone, and only 3 of the We Care Solar are functional as the battery of the We Care Solar was stolen at one facility. Finally, Two health facilities had Mobile Power (MoPo) power banks to provide additional power
Reliability of Electricity from the solar system
The table below shows the reliability of the solar electricity where the different colour shows the different reliability status
Reliability of Solar Electricity
Measure 1: During the last 7 days, was electricity at all times from the main or any back up sources when the facility was open for services? 1=Always available (no interruptions) – green 2=Often available (interruptions of less than 2 hours per day) – yellow 3=Sometimes available (frequent or prolonged interruptions of more than 2 hours per day) – red Measure 2: How many days during the past week was electricity not available for at least 2 hours during a time the facility was open for services? This includes emergency services. 0-7 | ||||||
Reliability of Electricity | Imvepi HC II
(Imvepi) |
Ocea HC II
(Rhino Camp) |
Odoubu HC II
(Rhino Camp) |
Yinga HC III
(Imvepi) |
Siripi HC III
(Rhino Camp) |
Ofua HC III
(Rhino Camp) |
Outpatient | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
Pharmacy | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
Laboratory | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
Inpatient ward | 0 | Not wired | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Maternity | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
HIV/TB Clinic | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Nutrition Ward | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7 | N/A | 7 |
SGBV Protection House | Not wired | N/A | 3 | 0 | N/A | N/A |
Security Guard House | Not wired | Not wired | Not wired | 7 | Not wired | Not wired |
Staff Quarters | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
7 | ||||||
7 | ||||||
7 | ||||||
7 | ||||||
7 | ||||||
Isolation Ward | Not wired | Not wired | Not wired | Not wired | Not wired | COVID19 – 0 |
TB ward not wired | ||||||
Latrines + Bathing Shelters | Not wired | Not wired | Not wired | Not wired | Not wired | Not wired |
Security lights | Gate - 7 | IPD - 7 | N/A | Gate – 0 | 0 | 0 |
IPD – 0 | ||||||
Isolation – 0 | ||||||
Staff quarters - 0 | Latrine - 7 | Maternity - 7 | ||||
Medicine Stores | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 7 |