Strengthening Public Health Laboratories for Pandemic Preparedness

The 19th episode of Insights webinar held on Wednesday 28th February 2024, featured seasoned professionals discussing the Integration of  Renewable Energy Solutions for Primary Healthcare Facilities.

During the session, panelists with immense expertise in implementing and managing Renewable Energy Solutions, exhaustively discussed the importance of renewable energy solutions in Primary Healthcare (PHCs) facilities. They reiterated the fact that electrification is important for the day to day running of Primary Healthcare facilities. According to the experts, effective electrification reduces neonatal mortality rates and has an inverse effect on financial outcomes. 

However, key concerns like  financing and sustainability of previously deployed systems were raised during the discussion. Other bottlenecks raised include regulatory frameworks, government policies, lack of proactive measures by government, lack of incentives for people that want to support renewable energy  and challenges of importing  renewable energy equipment amongst others.

 In this light, experts say there is a need for a joint effort among all stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of renewable energy solutions in PHCs. They called for  a good maintenance culture to make the integration of Renewable Energy Solutions a  viable business. 

Panelists also called for more partnership to promote  sustainability from technical capacity right down to community ownership. There is also the need for interoperability between  government, donors, industries and medical sectors for maximum utility. 

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