Powering Healthcare: Approaches to Delivering Sustainable Energy Solutions in the Health Sector

This webinar, hosted by the Clean Energy Solutions Center and the UN Foundation’s Energy Access Practitioner Network, was the second in the Powering Healthcare series dedicated to the topic of sustainable energy solutions for health facilities. Building on an introductory webinar, the webinar explored different approaches to delivering energy solutions to healthcare facilities in resource-constrained environments. The webinar series was part of the UN Foundation’s contribution to a broader program of work, Energy for Women’s and Children’s Health (EfWCH), which is co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO), UN Women, and the UN Foundation in support of Sustainable Energy for All.

The speakers in the webinar represented a variety of different projects and approaches to electrifying health facilities, and they discussed the various technical, institutional and operational considerations that shaped their interventions. Following introductory presentations, the webinar took the form of a conversation between the speakers.

Luc Severi, Manager Energy Access at United Nations Foundation, will provide an introduction to the webinar topic and how it builds on the introductory session to this series organized in July 2016. Luc will also discuss UN Foundation’s ongoing interventions in the energy-health nexus.

Tinyan Ogiehor, Technical Advisor – Solar PV at Solar Nigeria Programme, will introduce the work Adam Smith International has been managing in Nigeria under the Solar Nigeria Programme, which includes the electrification of health facilities.

Virginia Taborda, Director of Business Development at SolarKiosk, will provide an overview of SolarKiosk’s recent launch of its Connected Solar Clinic in Jordan.

Laura Stachel, M.D., M.P.H., Executive Director and Co-Founder at We Care Solar, will introduce We Care Solar’s work lighting up births in multiple countries across sub-Saharan Africa, including in Uganda and Liberia.

The hashtags #PNwebinar and #PoweringHealthcare will be used on social media during the webinar.

Panelists

Luc Severi, Manager Energy Access at United Nations Foundation

In his role as Manager at UNF, Luc leads a multi-year multi-country intervention focusing on the deployment of sustainable PV energy solutions in primary healthcare facilities. The project, funded by UK’s DFID, falls under UNF’s work within SEforALL’s high-impact opportunity Energy for Women’s and Children’s Health. As Manager, Luc manages the day-to-day implementation and the relations between the project stakeholders, in particular the public and private project partners in Ghana and Uganda. Prior to starting in this role, Luc worked in Mozambique and Senegal for the Rural Energy Foundation (now called SolarNow), and for Save the Children International in Liberia, where he managed a nation-wide EU-funded implementation program, targeting the electrification of more than 200 primary health facilities with solar PV systems, in partnership with the Ministry of Health. Throughout his career, Luc has been an active participant in the green & circular economy, working primarily on renewable energy solutions for off-grid and rural households, schools, and health centers. Luc holds a Master’s in Commercial Engineering from KULeuven and an MSc Development Management from the London School of Economics.

Tinyan Ogiehor, Technical Advisor – Solar PV at Solar Nigeria Programme

With over ten years’ experience in the renewable energy sector, Tinyan Ogiehor is highly skilled in managing renewable energy portfolios. Having worked at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the office of the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Millennium Development Goals (OSSAP-MDGs) both on solar related projects as well as the USAID funded Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Program (REEEP) where he was involved providing technical assistance for the successful deployment of renewable energy technology projects; he has both local and international experience in the sector. He is currently the lead technical advisor – Solar PV for the DFID funded programme, Solar Nigeria.

At Solar Nigeria, Tinyan is working to develop the off-grid solar market in Nigeria. This is being achieved through implementation of solar for social projects for schools and clinics in Lagos, Kaduna and North eastern Nigeria (with over 6.5MWs of installed solar power till date); supporting the administration of grants to solar companies to enable them to develop their businesses and reach financial close for a number of commercial scale projects, (with power generation as large as 1MW in Northern Nigeria).

Tinyan has a working knowledge of the off-grid solar market in Nigeria. He has formed strategic partnerships with majority of the solar companies and financial institutions needed to scale this market in Nigeria. Overall, He has a good understanding of how the market should work from both a business and technical perspective.

Virginia Taborda, Director of Business Development at SolarKiosk

Virginia Taborda is the Director of Business Development at SOLARKIOSK AG, headquartered in Berlin, Germany. She is responsible for the interface with all B2B business partners to bring SOLARKIOSK’s solutions to the base of the pyramid and other underserved communities. Her role in the management team also includes leading a department to sell SOLARKIOSK’s E-HUBB, Connect Solar School and Connected Solar Clinic and develop new solutions based on its award winning technology.

Virginia has a unique breadth and depth of experience having worked internationally for a 100-year-old manufacturer (Rolls-Royce), a bank (CIT), private equity (Terra Firma), small business (Avianor) and entrepreneurs. In these companies, Virginia held sales, asset management, purchasing, business development and senior management roles – always with a focus on developing relationships to foster success and yield results. She delivered billions of dollars in sales in her aviation career.

Virginia has lived in nine cities in five countries including the US, UK, Canada, Brazil and now Germany. While living in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Virginia founded a charity fundraising initiative, contributing to the education of impoverished teenagers in high-risk neighborhoods.

Laura Stachel, M.D., M.P.H., Executive Director and Co-Founder at We Care Solar

Laura is an obstetrician-gynecologist with fourteen years of clinical experience. She holds an M.D. from University of California, San Francisco and an M.P.H. in Maternal and Child Health from University of California, Berkeley. She was a staff researcher at the Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley until 2015. Her research on maternal mortality in Nigeria in 2008 alerted her to the deleterious effects of energy poverty on maternal health outcomes. Along with Hal Aronson, she co-founded We Care Solar to bring simple solar electric solutions to maternal and child health care in regions without reliable electricity. We Care Solar has equipped more than 2000 health facilities in over 20 countries with the We Care Solar Suitcase®, a compact solar energy system providing essential lighting and power.

Laura is passionate about promoting sustainable energy solutions for women’s health and speaks around the world on this topic. She has been active in the UN Foundation’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative and has co-chaired a Practitioners Working Group on Energy and Health. Laura was one of the Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013. For her work with We Care Solar, Laura received numerous awards, including the 2015 UN DESA “Powering the Future We Want” Award. She was a finalist in the 2017 Zayed Future Energy Prize, and won the 2016 National Energy Globe Award, the 2015 UCSF Alumni Award, the 2014 Katerva Gender Equality Award, the 2012 Clean Energy, Education and Empowerment Award, the 2012 United Nations Association Global Citizens Award, the 2011 Tech Award, the 2010 Jefferson Award for Public Service, and the 2010 UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Award for Civic Engagement.