HealthGrid Sierra Leone

Electrifying healthcare facilities in Sierra Leone

The World Health Organization estimates that only 34% of the healthcare facilities in sub-Saharan Africa have access to reliable electricity. That means over 100,000 healthcare facilities do not, which severely impedes delivery of health services, including storage and distribution of vaccines and medicines, to millions of people. 

In October 2021, RESOLVE and its partners launched HealthGrid Sierra Leone (HealthGrid), a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Global Development Alliance (GDA) to help address this problem.  HealthGrid will install and maintain sustainable energy systems for 31 remote, off-grid, healthcare facilities in Sierra Leone. 

Providing these facilities with reliable electricity will enable them to host other essential equipment. Once power is connected at these sites, HealthGrid partners Orange Sierra Leone and World Vision will also install internet connections and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) systems. 

Historically, a key challenge of off-grid electrification efforts is lack of long-term maintenance, leading to declining performance of the equipment. A fundamental innovation of the “HealthGrid Methodology” is that it leverages partnerships with mobile network operators to provide ongoing maintenance  support for all installed equipment. This sustainability plan will ensure the functioning of all systems well beyond the two-year term of the GDA.

HealthGrid Sierra Leone is a pilot project for a broader initiative to expand the delivery of electricity, connectivity and WASH systems to many other sub-Saharan Africa countries. Conceptualization and organization of this multi-country initiative is underway with support from bechtel.org.

View a downloadable project profile for HealthGrid Sierra Leone.