Burundi (2008) - Health Project

Summary

The project proposes a new approach to electrification for the new health center in the village of Kigutu through the implementation of a hybrid solar PV/diesel generator system. Hybridizing the system will minimize costs – especially in the context of steadily escalating diesel expense – and supply vital electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to physicians treating thousands of patients suffering from malaria, HIV/AIDS, measles, and tuberculosis.

With a population of over 8 million people, Burundi is a country of both great beauty and great tragedy, Burundi is a landlocked East African nation that shares borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania. By all measures, Burundi has a public health crisis. Even with the violence of the 1990s largely over, Burundi's mortality figures still remain among the worst in the world. The infant mortality in the country approaches 20% and many other ailments affect children and adults alike. The southern part of the country, specifically Kigutu, has especially acute health care needs due to the fact that the closest hospital is a 14 mile walk away. In response to this crisis, the Burundi-based Village Health Works (VHW) has recently began the construction of a new health care center with both in-patient and out-patient facilities.

Objectives

SELF is working in tandem with Partners In Health and Village Health Works to address the public health crisis in Kigutu, in extreme southern Burundi, through the solar electrification of the modern health center that will ultimately serve 60,000 people who face endemic diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The center’s electricity will be provided by a long-lasting solar power system which will cut the cost of energy dramatically.

Solution

To determine the appropriate system for the new health clinic, SELF visited the site in January 2008, and learned as much as possible from the staff about the current and future plans of Village Health Works. SELF looked at the daily energy consumption, as well as the probable increases by July of 2009 and July of 2010. With this information, SELF determined that a solar-diesel hybrid system, an electrical energy system based on batteries for storage, is the best solution. This system is sized so that most of the charging is done by the sun, while also providing a diesel generator back-up in the event of a prolonged overcast or in the event of any other unusual situations arising.

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