We Care Solar: Ensuring Safer Births with Solar Energy

We Care Solar addresses a critical social need: the lack of reliable electricity in rural health centers, particularly in energy-scarce communities across sub-Saharan Africa. Its Light Every Birth Initiative targets seven critical countries with high maternal mortality rates and inadequate energy access: Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. To date, it has reached more than 9,200 health facilities, serving millions of mothers and newborns.

Almost 290,000 women die each year from complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Many of these deaths occur in regions where health facilities lack adequate lighting, electricity for essential equipment, or reliable communication systems. These challenges contribute to delays in treatment, poor-quality care, and preventable maternal and neonatal deaths.

Its Solar Suitcase solution directly tackles these issues by providing clean, reliable solar energy to off-grid health centers. The Solar Suitcase powers medical lighting, fetal heart rate monitors, phone charging, and other essential devices, allowing health workers to deliver timely, life-saving care, especially during childbirth emergencies.

The impact of this clean energy technology is profound. By improving the ability to provide round-the-clock care, the Solar Suitcase helps reduce maternal mortality rates and improves the safety of deliveries. Together with government, NGO, and local partners, it demonstrates that it is feasible and cost-effective to ensure every woman has access to a safe delivery in a well-lit health center. AMREF conducted a three-year, multi-intervention trial using Solar Suitcases in 100 health facilities across Uganda. The results showed an 80% increase in nighttime deliveries, a 50% reduction in maternal mortality, and a 63% decrease in perinatal deaths.

The We Care Solar Suitcase® is a robust, easy-to-use solar electric system that provides last-mile health facilities with highly efficient medical lighting and power for mobile communication and small medical devices. It is designed to support timely and efficient emergency obstetric care, but can also be used in various medical and humanitarian settings. The water-and-dust-tight yellow case transforms into a cabinet that mounts to the wall, while the solar panels are secured to the roof.

The system includes a 12V, 20Ah lithium ferrous phosphate battery, four high-efficiency LED lights for medical task lighting, two 12V DC accessory sockets, two USB ports, and two expansion ports for optional accessories or additional lights. A custom display and user interface make operation simple and intuitive. It also features two rechargeable headlamps, a fetal Doppler with an infrared thermometer, and an AA/AAA battery charger.

At its core, the Solar Suitcase integrates high-performance, medical-grade LED lights, providing bright and reliable illumination in delivery rooms, operating spaces, and examination areas. These energy-efficient LEDs ensure continuous lighting for extended periods without quickly draining the battery. The adjustable lights allow precise illumination for medical procedures, ensuring optimal visibility during nighttime deliveries and emergency situations.

Designed for durability and portability, the Solar Suitcase is built with tough, impact-resistant plastic, making it waterproof and shockproof to protect internal components from harsh environmental conditions. Its compact and portable design facilitates transportation to remote or hard-to-reach locations.

Developed in collaboration with health workers, who experience the challenges of energy scarcity firsthand, the Solar Suitcase is continuously improved to meet end-user needs. To ensure reliability, it features a user-friendly interface with simple indicators for battery charge levels, power consumption, and fault alerts, helping health workers manage the system effectively and detect issues before failure occurs. Additionally, the system includes comprehensive instructions for setup, maintenance, and troubleshooting, allowing even those with minimal technical experience to operate and maintain it efficiently.

For over a decade, We Care Solar has designed and delivered sustainable energy technology and programs to remote, marginalized communities in Africa and Southeast Asia that lack access to reliable electricity. With its Solar Suitcases, it has enabled access to safer maternal and newborn care in health facilities.

Since its founding, We Care Solar has:

• Equipped 9,600 health facilities with Solar Suitcases.
• Enabled safe deliveries for 16 million mothers and newborns in facilities equipped with reliable light and power.
• Trained 38,000 health workers to install, operate, and maintain its technology.
• Partnered with more than 80 local and international organizations to expand its impact.
• Provided 277 million hours of medical lighting and power for improved obstetric care.
• Averted more than 120,000 tons of CO2 through its clean energy solution.

The Solar Suitcase deployment involves partnerships with governments, NGOs, and healthcare providers to identify facilities in need. It builds solar installation, operation, and maintenance capacity through gender-inclusive training programs, ensuring sustainable light access while creating economic opportunities. Trained local technicians install each Solar Suitcase, and healthcare workers receive training to operate and maintain the equipment effectively.

By empowering local staff to manage the Solar Suitcases, We Care Solar fosters long-term reliability and community ownership of the solution.

Beyond healthcare, this solution contributes to environmental sustainability by replacing diesel generators and kerosene lamps with clean solar energy. The Solar Suitcase program also reduces reliance on fossil fuels in health facilities and decreases black carbon emissions. Additionally, it helps lower operational costs for healthcare centers.

In summary, the Solar Suitcase has made a significant social impact, improving health outcomes, promoting environmental sustainability, and creating economic opportunities in the solar energy sector.