Crypto Relief partners with SELCO Foundation to Strengthen Health Infrastructure with Sustainable Energy Solutions
Crypto Relief and SELCO Foundation are partnering with the Ministry of Health, Government of India to empower 1278 Public Health Facilities across 5 states with solar energy.
Ensuring access to reliable and quality health care infrastructure to all is critical to poverty alleviation and equitable development. As the country continues to fight against the pandemic, the Ministry of Health and the SELCO Foundation has taken up one of the largest programs for upgrading public health facilities with solar energy.
Through this initiative in the first phase sustainable solar energy solutions and efficient medical equipment will be integrated across 1278 healthcare facilities in 10 chosen districts within states of Karnataka, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Odisha. The solar energy would be used to strengthen immunization, maternal and child care, as well as basic diagnostics and critical care. Energy efficiency drive in these facilities will optimise the solar energy requirement and reduce energy consumption by 50-60%. The initiative will directly impact a population of more than 5.7 million people that depend on the public health value chain across the 10 districts.
With improved energy reliability and access, the interventions will help reduce out-of-pocket expenses for end-users, improve staff retention levels especially in remote and vulnerable contexts, change end-user perceptions on the value of public health facilities, increasing footfalls and usage. The program will be a collaboration between Government agencies, Health facilities and staff and Health sector NGOs to ensure better delivery of health care.
The Program is being funded by Crypto Relief, which was set up to provide healthcare and essentials to those fighting for survival against COVID-19. In the past 4 months, the fund has attracted more than USD 440 mn and is working closely with partner organizations NGOs, and hospitals in order to support the Government of India’s efforts in responding to the pandemic.
Sandeep Nailwal, founder of Crypto Relief says, “The team at Crypto Relief realises the potential that solar powering health centres enable a foundation to impact health indicators on the ground in these districts. This program will allow the Crypto Relief team to bring together a consortium of partners in these districts to plug gaps and holistically impact the health system through our district full-stack approach.”
Since the past 4 years, SELCO Foundation has implemented over 1000 sustainable energy-driven interventions for healthcare across the country. It has partnered with NGOs on the ground and local government officials including Panchayat Secretaries, District Commissioners and District Health Officers, who have been critical in championing these solutions, as well as ensuring their sustainability.
Harish Hande, CEO of SELCO Foundation, says “India through multiple initiatives like these is well on its way to become a beacon of climate innovation for the developing world. With this bold move towards solar powering all public health facilities in 5 states, the health sector in India has shown a positive path towards meeting the 2030 UN-Sustainable Development Goals on health and well-being, clean energy, no poverty and climate action. The learnings emerging from this program will be critical to support more states and champions on their path towards India's renewable energy and healthcare for all ambitions.”
This partnership between the Government of India, Crypto Relief and SELCO Foundation seeks to create a scalable model for health facilities to become more resilient and strongly equipped to meet the needs of the poorest communities in the most vulnerable parts of the country. It aims to meet the country’s emerging focus to drive development in a manner that is equitable, sustainable and reduces the pressure on the planet.
About SELCO Foundation
SELCO Foundation aims to develop innovative, sustainable – social, technical and financial models that impact climate change and poverty alleviation. It is a collaborative striving to work on solutions, support agents and build a sustainable ecosystem for clean energy access. SELCO Foundation seeks to holistically facilitate context-driven solutions and opportunities that result in improved well-being and livelihoods for underserved communities through sustainable energy and energy-efficient applications.
To know more, visit www.selcofoundation.org. For any additional queries, write to us at info@selcofoundation.org
About Crypto Relief
IN COVID SUPPORT FZE LLC, UAE (a.k.a Crypto Relief) is an organization dedicated to helping India fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Since four months of its inception, Crypto Relief has impacted over a million families across 28 states and territories. Its focus has been on supporting immediate COVID relief, health system augmentation and nutrition through multiple governments and civil society partnerships enabled by a team of dedicated volunteers.