Moffat Mungazi
Tendai Gukutikwa
Health Reporter
IN a significant stride towards improving healthcare service delivery, Government in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has powered up the majority of health facilities in Manicaland using clean and renewable energy.
This is being done through the Solar for Health project in which 192 out of 214 clinics and other health institutions in the province, are now running on solar energy, marking a transformative milestone towards universal health coverage and climate-smart solutions.
The initiative, supported by the Global Fund, is part of a broader commitment to strengthen health systems, while mitigating climate change effects.
Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza commended the initiative, noting that the large-scale solarisation effort has, not only reduced the dependency on the unreliable national electricity grid, but ensured uninterrupted healthcare services, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach communities.
He said the synergy between Government and UNDP has been crucial in delivering life-changing infrastructure across the province.
“We have seen that solar energy, renewable energy in particular, has taken Manicaland to another level. We have our hospitals, several of them solarised through the works of Government and UNDP.
“Here at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital, we have this project, which is 140-kilowatts.
‘‘At Mutambara Mission Hospital, we have another project just above this one, which is 150-kilowatts. And on top of that, we have the Hwakwata Project which is 200-kilowatts, which is feeding into the country’s main grid and lighting many clinics,” he said, adding that only two hospitals in the province are yet to be solarised, while the rest are operating on 40-kilowatts.
“Over 100 of the 214 clinics in the province are running on 5-kilowatts each. All the 42 health centres in the province have also been solarised,” he said, adding that with these initiatives, Manicaland is fast becoming a model for how green energy can revolutionise healthcare delivery, build climate resilience, and support sustainable development one solar panel at a time.
Minister Mugadza also praised President Mnangagwa for creating an enabling environment, where Government departments, international partners, and community stakeholders can collaborate for development.
“We are very thankful to the President for the environment that he has created in this country where we have people working together, and we expect more and more to come under his stewardship,” he added.
UNDP country representative, Mr Ayodele Odusola said the Solar for Health Programme is being implemented nationwide through the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
“In fact, the Solar for Health, as of today, is working under the leadership of the Ministry of Health and Child Care, with the support of the Ministry of Public Works and Local Government, covering almost 1 073 solar facilities. Out of the 1 073 Solar for Health facilities, we have 192 of them in Manicaland,” he said.
Mr Odusola further detailed the broader energy and water projects that UNDP is supporting under the Global Fund and UK-funded programmes.
“We have already put in place 447 boreholes, and 97 of them are in Manicaland,” he said.
He added that the Hwakwata Mini-grid, a 200-kilowatt system, and the 120-kilowatt solar installation in Dete are part of UNDP’s vision for decentralised renewable energy. If you put all the renewable energy we have been contributing up together, we are talking about a 13,8-megawatt solar system,” said Mr Odusola.
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