HCASSC has completed the installation of solar power systems across 10 rural Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) in Kano and Kaduna states, Nigeria — transforming facilities that previously closed at sunset and could not safely store vaccines into fully functional, round-the-clock health posts serving a combined catchment population of approximately 85,000 people.
Each installation consists of a 5 kW solar array, a 20 kWh lithium battery storage system, a solar refrigerator for vaccine cold-chain management, LED lighting throughout the facility, and power sockets for medical equipment including blood pressure monitors, foetal dopplers, and sterilisation units. Installation teams from a certified Nigerian solar company completed each site in three to four days, training local health workers to monitor and perform basic maintenance on the systems.
"Before solar, we turned patients away after 3 pm and threw away vaccines when the ice packs failed," said Nurse-in-Charge Hauwa Ibrahim at the Tudun Wada PHC in Kaduna. "Now we deliver babies at night, store vaccines properly, and charge phones for emergency calls. It has completely changed what we can do for this community."
The project was funded through a partnership with the Nigerian Catholic Bishops' Conference Development Fund and private donors responding to HCASSC's 2024 Lights for Life campaign. All 10 systems are now operational and under a two-year maintenance warranty.
HCASSC is seeking additional funding to replicate the model across 15 further health posts in Borno and Yobe states, where displacement from conflict has placed the greatest strain on already fragile health infrastructure.
