Bansang General Hospital
Our newest project in under construction now! Located in Bansang in the Central River Region of The Gambia, this 197 bed facility serves a very poor and very rural segment of the Gambian community. Providing over 1,300 surgeries and 1,700 deliveries a year, and healthcare for over 60,000, the hospital constantly struggles with the lack of reliable electricity. Our 2020 solar power project will provide 84 kW of clean, green power with state of the art lithium ion battery backup for emergency power at night.
Bwiam General Hospital
Our first project in The Gambia started at Bwiam General Hospital, when in 2006, the hospital CEO shared his dream of a Gambian hospital powered by solar energy. Our first installation was a 12 kW off-grid solar power project that provided the hospital with reliable electricity for the first time since it was built. We have since expanded the system into a 64 kW solar power project with battery backup – and hope to expand on that even more as the hospital grows.
Solar Suitcases for Maternal Health
Many rural health clinics in The Gambia lack access to electricity. And even in towns and cities, health clinics find themselves struggling with unreliable and erratic electricity supply. This becomes a critical problem when women arrive at night in labor. Without electricity and lights, nurses and midwives struggle to deliver in darkness or by candlelight. Power Up Gambia, the Gambia Minstry or Health and Social Welfare and the USA based charity We Care Solar launched on a project in 2016 to provide We Care Solar’s “Solar Suitcases” to every clinic labor ward in The Gambia. With reliable lights and charging for cell phones and fetal heart monitors, no women needs to deliver in the dark.
Technical Training
It is not enough to build projects that provide clean, renewable energy to hospitals and clinics. It is also important to build the knowledge base that will allow Gambians to continue to design, build and maintain the projects. Power Up Gambia has worked with the Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI) and the Renewable Energy Association of The Gambia (Reagam) to look at what can be done to develop technical training for future solar power projects in The Gambia