Kenya adopting clean climate resilient health interventions

The Kenyan
Ministry of Health has identified solarisation of off-grid health facilities as
a key strategy for strengthening climate-resilient systems, particularly across
arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs.)

This strategy
is set to ensure places in the off-grid areas are supplied with reliable
electricity in their health facilities, thus enabling efficient administration
of healthcare systems.

In a
presentation made at a climate change and health Media for Environment,
Science, Health and Agriculture (MESHA) science café, Rose Mokaya, Assistant
Director Public Health, Ministry of Health, Kenya, said the intervention is
aimed at ensuring health facilities have reliable electricity to support
critical medical services.   

 “More than half of healthcare facilities in
off-grid areas currently lack dependable electricity, hence the intervention was
brought about to ensure reliable energy for healthcare services,” Mokaya said.

In response
to this growing number, Kenya’s National Solarization of Public Hospitals body,
led by the government through Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Health are working
to equip medical facilities with rooftop solar panels and battery systems. This
ensures steady power and cuts down the cost of buying diesel for generators.  

Mokaya mentioned that the World Bank is a
major global funder in supporting projects to solarize off-grid health
facilities. It funds the Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (KOSAP) to
implement the infrastructure needed in the 14 underserved counties.

These counties include Turkana, Marsabit, Mandera, Wajir,
Garissa and Isiolo. Others are Samburu, Tana River, Baringo, Kajiado, West
Pokot, Laikipia and Kitui.

According to Mokaya, solarizing clinics and hospitals in off-grid places will be of
benefit as it will ensure a continuous flow of power for critical medical
services which help maintain oxygen support systems, ventilators and vaccine
refrigeration unit.

The Ministry of Health
is also implementing the Sustainable Clean Energy Transition-Use of non-burn
technologies involve microwaving and shredding waste rather than burning. These
initiatives do not produce emissions unlike burning, making them a cleaner
alternative, Mokaya said.

In terms of
implementation, the Ministry completed a first phase covering 10 counties
including Nakuru,
Kisumu, Eldoret, Kisii, Machakos, Kakamega, Embu, Mombasa, Nyeri, and Nairobi where machines were
installed in health facilities. They are currently in the second phase,
targeting 15 counties.

“The approach uses a
“pooled system,” meaning waste from smaller surrounding health
facilities in a county is collected and brought to a central facility where the
microwaving machines are located, rather than requiring every single facility
to have its own machine,” Mokaya noted.

She acknowledged that
improper disposal of healthcare waste, such as dumping hazardous materials on
roadsides, in water bodies, or in landfills, is indeed a concern that the
ministry is aware of and is trying to address through this initiative.

The shift to non-burn
technologies is part of the health sector’s broader effort to reduce its
contribution to environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, in line
with the principle of “first, do no harm.”

These
interventions form part of the Kenya Climate Change and Health
Strategy (2024–2029) which seeks to strengthen the resilience
of the health sector and protect vulnerable populations from climate-related
health risks.

This strategy
is a vital framework to place human health at the centre of climate action,
protect vulnerable groups from climate-sensitive diseases, and build low-carbon,
resilient health systems.