Energy is a Human Right
The mission of the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) is to provide solar power and wireless communications to a quarter of the world’s population living in energy poverty.
SELF believes that energy is a human right. To meet global challenges such as food and water scarcity, climate change and poverty, SELF is working to assign greater priority to the importance of sustainable energy among international development banks, aid agencies, foundations, and philanthropic individuals, who are committed to improving the health, education, and economic prospects of the world's poorest citizens.
What is Energy Poverty?
SELF defines energy poverty as a lack of access to clean and efficient energy systems. Energy poverty exacts its toll on the health, education, food and livelihoods of the world’s poorest people.
Energy is a foundation, a prime condition, a prerequisite to a healthy living and a competitive economy, without which:
- Health Clinics go without lighting and medical equipment and without necessary refrigeration to preserve vaccines and anti-venom serum for yellow fever, polio, tetanus, whooping cough, and hepatitis A and B.
- Schools go without dependable lighting to facilitate education and ensure the well-being of their students.
- Community knowledge is compromised when connectivity by radio and telephone is
power-constrained.
- Agricultural production is hindered by lack of irrigation systems, which leads to the loss of precious day-light hours to traditional fuel-gathering, severely impeding economic progress.
- Homes are lit with kerosene lamps, which give dim and wavering
light, emit cancer-causing smoke, and cause thousands of devastating
house fires every year. In contrast, light produced by solar
power is carbon free clean, steady, bright, and safe
- Surface Water is dangerously contaminated with disease-carrying
waste and agricultural runoff.
- Micro-Enterprise is severely hampered, as nightfalls comes at about
6:30 p.m. year-round, effectively ending the productive work
day without access to electric light.
- Urban Migration causes explosive growth of cities in developing
nations, straining the natural environment and overwhelming
cities' social service systems.
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