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Transcript/ScriptNigeria Hospitals Solar – Bala
HEADLINE: A Solar Power Initiative Giving Hospitals in Nigeria Hope
TEASER: Health workers say poor power supply is forcing them to stop offering services at night.
PUBLISHED AT: 08/06/2023 at 2:11 pm
BYLINE: Alhassan Bala
DATELINE: ABUJA, NIGERIA
VIDEOGRAPHER: Alhassan Bala
VIDEO EDITOR:
ASSIGNING EDITOR: Haruna Shehu
SCRIPT EDITORS: Salem Solomon, KEnochs; DLJ
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV X RADIO X
TRT: 2:51
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG/RADIO
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO))
[[Nigeria’s unreliable power grid is not only slowing down the country’s economic growth, but health workers say it can lead to unwanted hospital shutdowns at night. But one startup is giving hospitals hope. Alhassan Bala has this report, narrated by Haruna Shehu.]]
((NARRATION))
For most rural dwellers in Nigeria, hospitals or health centers closing at dusk has become a norm because of an unreliable or weak electricity supply.
In areas where hospitals must operate at night without electricity, health workers attend to their patients using flashlights or lanterns.
This used to be the situation at the Primary Health Care Center in Karu, an urban area outside the capital, Abuja. Staff nurse Rose Bawa Tonga explains.
((Rose Bawa Tonga, Staff Nurse)) ((Female, in English))
“Honestly, we were not finding things easy. It was really a bad situation for people working especially at night duty like in terms of conducting deliveries, the nurses don’t even agree to do night duty here, because there was no light, and they were so scared.”
((NARRATION))
Tonga said storing medicine like vaccines has been an issue and it’s not just health workers that are impacted by lack of electricity, but also patients in need.
((Rose Bawa Tonga, Staff Nurse)) ((Female, in English))
“Even the pregnant women, they don’t even like coming. Sometimes the nurses will be at home once they reach here, they will then place a call saying, ‘Somebody is on labor.’”
((NARRATION))
But things have changed at the Karu health center. The hospital now has a 24-hour uninterrupted power supply because of Volsus Energy, a solar power startup. Tonga says it’s a big change.
((Rose Bawa Tonga, Staff Nurse)) ((Female, in English))
“If you can check around you will see there is light everywhere, everywhere is visible and our vaccines are intact they are always ready for use and the women are very happy.”
((NARRATION))
Engineer Tomiwa Bayo-Ojo is the chief executive officer of Volsus Energy. Founded in 2016, his startup has so far provided solar power to one facility. But Bayo-Ojo says solar power is the right approach for sustainable electricity to health care facilities across Nigeria.
((Tomiwa Bayo-Ojo; Volsus Energy))
“The power that they require on a daily basis is relatively small, they don’t have heavy equipment ... everything they have there just require few kilowatts and I think this can be solved by mini grids, which is the solution that we provide.”
((NARRATION))
Volsus Energy is just one of many solar initiatives popping up across Nigeria. According to numbers published by Statista, solar energy capacity in the country amounted to 37 megawatts in 2022, a 12% jump from the year before.
((For Alhassan Bala in Abuja, Nigeria, Haruna Shehu, VOA News.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
in Abuja, Nigeria
Embargo DateAugust 6, 2023 12:23 EDT
Byline
Alhassan Bala in Abuja, Nigeria,
Haruna Shehu, VOA News
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
