Reference :
V-P-AF-E-02998
Date :
22/05/2024
Caption :
Kandahar province, Mirwais hospital, neonatal ward. Two women provide care for their newborn babies. Thanks to the hybrid solar energy system installed by the ICRC in November 2023, the hospital can operate for up to 23 hours a day.
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
"For years, the Mirwais Regional Hospital (MRH) in Kandahar grappled with unreliable electricity supply, significantly hindering its ability to function as a critical health care hub for over a million residents in the surrounding provinces. Historically, the hospital would receive only five to nine hours of daily electricity daily, of sub-par quality. To bridge this gap, diesel generators were employed for an additional 15 to 20 hours each day, leading to increased carbon emissions and elevated electricity costs. To address this persistent challenge, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) undertook two pivotal power projects for the hospital — constructing a dedicated medium voltage power line of 5.5 km connecting the hospital to the main feeder of the city grid and installing a 550 kWAC hybrid solar system. ICRC's Water and Habitat staff - Ahmad Zia Abdali (on the left) - assessing the power line to the Mirwais Regional Hospital with an official from Afghanistan’s electricity company. Ahmad Zia Abdali, ICRC Water and Habitat (WatHab) Engineer, remarked, “By the first quarter of 2023, we had successfully connected the hospital to reliable city grid power lines. This decision to leverage the city grid for the hospital was triggered due to the high costs associated with generators, the environmental hazards they posed and the excessive noise they created within the hospital.” He added, “We also installed a hybrid solar power system to provide the hospital with sustainable and renewable energy, featuring pure sine wave voltage, which eliminates wastage and prevents damage to medical equipment.” The hospital now benefits from uninterrupted electricity supplied by the hybrid solar system during the day and the city grid at night. As a result, there has been a notable improvement in health care services and a reduction in wait time for patients who travel great distances from remote areas to reach MRH" Site web du CICR, article 22/07/2024
Resolution :
3289x2064
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
