The climate emergency is impacting communities where Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) works worldwide, posing significant challenges to people's health and the provision of health care. In Bauchi state, northern Nigeria, an MSF project is addressing this crisis through a solar power project aiding hospitals reliant on generators due to unstable electricity. Here’s why this project is already making a difference.
1. Climate change is hitting communities hard
“My son, Abubakar Adamu, is 2 years old,” says Aishahtu, who comes from a small village in Bauchi state, northern Nigeria. “Before bringing him to the hospital, we faced the river flooding due to recent rains. Earlier this year, we endured months of drought, which seemed to grow harsher with each passing season, leaving us with poor harvests. Food shortages have become frequent for our family.”
Aishahtu’s story is not uncommon in northern Nigeria, where changing climatic conditions are aggravating existing food insecurity and malnutrition. MSF teams are currently seeing an alarming rise in malnutrition rates, with the number of children admitted to inpatient nutrition facilities in Bauchi more than doubling since 2023.
Nigeria 2024 © Miguel Godonou/MSF
Among these dangerously malnourished children, 76 percent also test positive for malaria. Warmer temperatures and changing rainfall patterns foster the spread of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, which thrive in stagnant water.
“The climate shifts we’re witnessing, including prolonged heat and dry seasons, are seriously impacting our patients’ health, especially as temperatures rise,” says Dr. Gezibwa Ahadi, medical activity manager for MSF’s Bauchi project.
With young children disproportionately affected and life-threatening complications increasingly common in Bauchi, the need to reduce carbon emissions couldn’t be clearer.
2. Electricity is vital, yet supply is unstable
At Kaffin Madaki’s pediatric hospital in Ganjuwa, Bauchi state, where MSF teams are supporting staff in providing critical care for children, the treatment of many of the sickest patients relies on sensitive medical devices such as oxygen concentrators, so electricity is vital. However, electricity is unstable in Ganjuwa, which faces unpredictable power outages. The MSF team has been alternating between two diesel generators for 18 hours a day since they started working at the hospital in 2022.
To address this challenge, MSF designed and installed a solar power system for the hospital. The system has 96 panels, some made from recycled materials. This transition to solar power dramatically reduces the hospital’s reliance on generators, which previously consumed more than 50 gallons of fuel daily.
Nigeria 2024 © Miguel Godonou/MSF
3. Going solar helps improve care for patients
Initially, the solar system was designed to meet 75 percent of the hospital's energy needs, but it has exceeded expectations and now covers all of its needs. The generator is now only used minimally as back-up.
“With the installation of solar panels, we’ve seen a significant improvement in energy stability at the hospital, which is crucial for treating malnutrition and pediatric emergencies that often involve critical cases,” says Dr. Ahadi.
There are other benefits, too. Previously, the hospital required more than 1,500 gallons of diesel each month. "With renewable solar energy, we expect our carbon emissions to drop by 160 tonnes per year," says Joshua Halem Iorfa, MSF energy specialist in Nigeria. The solar panel installation at the pediatric hospital not only lowers greenhouse gas emissions but also reduces operating costs, freeing up budgeting that can be used to further improve the services available.
4. MSF has a global commitment to reducing carbon emissions
The initiative in Bauchi is part of MSF's broader effort to become more environmentally responsible, not only in Nigeria but globally. MSF has committed to reducing its global carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2030, compared to 2019 levels. For an emergency organization with medical projects in over 70 countries, this is a significant task that will take time, but solutions are already being put in place to help reach this goal.
Teams are currently finishing up the installation of 436 solar panels for the MSF-supported hospital in Zurmi in Nigeria’s Zamfara state. In Maiduguri, the MSF-supported Nilefa Kiji Hospital has been utilizing the newly installed solar panels since December 2023. Meanwhile, further projects are being carried out or planned in other MSF hospitals and clinics around the world.
From left: This monitoring screen is integrated into the solar panel and energy storage battery management system, enabling remote monitoring and control; pillars installed to support the solar panels at the entrance of Ganjuwa Hospital. Nigeria 2024 © Miguel Godonou/MSF
Communities are feeling the impacts of climate change in almost every place MSF works. Without significant steps to mitigate these effects, health and humanitarian crises will only get worse. The team in Bauchi have shown that greening health services is both possible and beneficial for people’s health. It’s a win-win for health and the environment.
