Madagascar Using Solar to Benefit Poor

My attention was captured yesterday by a story written by AFP. Entitled ‘Madagascar: solar power ends Dark Age for rural clinics,’ the author looked at how one of the poorest countries in the world is using solar power to benefit those in poor rural areas.

The author wrote of Elisabeth, a 53 year old grandmother, who accompanied her daughter after she gave birth to her first child. She spoke of how, for her, if she had wanted to give birth with light, she would have to bring her own candles.

Now, in the small village of Antsahadinta, 20 kilometers to the west of Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, the medical clinic now has its own solar generator to produce its own electricity.

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Madagascar, slightly less than twice the size of Arizona, sees only 43% of the country covered by the national water and electricity provider, JIRAMA. According to a United Nations report, published in 2006, only 3% of the rural population of Madagascar has connection to the network. Sadly, a total of 85% of the countries people live in those areas, and most of those below the poverty line.

The Antsahadinta health center was rebuilt in 2004. In the process, the Development Intervention Fund (FID), a private association in part financed by the government, installed three large solar panels on the clinic. The three panels have a maximum generating output of 400 watts of electricity.

“This really makes our work easier, especially since 80 percent of births take place at night,” said Mamy Rakotondrainibe, the head doctor at the centre.

Check out the rest of the article for a look into how renewable energy is more than just an environmentalists dream.

credit: World Resources Institute Staff at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

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