Edo Govt, ICE Commercial Power Partner On Sustainable Energy For Primary Health Centres

In line with Governor Godwin Obaseki’s drive to make quality and affordable healthcare accessible in rural areas, the Edo State government has partnered with ICE Commercial Power to deliver clean and reliable energy solution to 20 Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) in the state under the Edo Healthcare Improvement Programme (Edo-HIP).

In a statement, Co-Founder, ICE Commercial Power, Dr. Emmanuel Ekwueme, said the partnership is geared at delivering Governor Obaseki’s promise to revamp primary healthcare in the state.

He said that the first stage of the programme with the state government is the transition of 20 PHCs across the state to clean, reliable energy with the deployment of 164KVA total solar power for each facility’s operations and water supply.

According to him, “ICE Commercial Power, in partnership with the Edo State Ministry of Health, is deploying solar energy in 20 pilot primary health centres (PHC) in Edo State.

“This is part of Governor Obaseki's Healthcare Improvement Programme (HIP). The initiative will see the transition to clean, reliable energy in these first 20 PHCs. The first phase of the programme will see the deployment of 164 KVA total solar energy to power each PHC with critical electrical supply for operations and water supply.”

The second phase of the programme, according to him, “will see the deployment of solar power under a sustainable pay-as-you-go model for 180 PHCs in the state. The HIP is part of a set of healthcare reforms in the state, along with the Health Insurance Scheme, which will ensure that residents have better access to quality, universal health coverage.”

Explaining the rationale for the deployment of solar energy, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Obaseki on Human Resource, Mr. Paul Okungbowa, said that the government is intent on deploying innovative solutions in solving challenges.

According to him, “We are working with ICE Commercial Power on the solar power at the PHCs because it is a sustainable option if we intend to realise the vision of repositioning the primary healthcare centers for optimal service delivery. Ours is a plan that ensures that the infrastructure needed to support affordable healthcare is guaranteed even as we prepare for the take-off of the Health Insurance Scheme.”


PHOTO:
A technician fitting a solar panel on the roof of Iyakhara Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC), in Owan East Local Government Area, as part of reforms under the Edo Health Improvement Programme (HIP).