Logo Signify
Suggerimenti

    Lighting up Health Centers in India

     

    April 6, 2022

     

    RDO Trust, FINISH Society, Signify Foundation, and Signify India joined hands to install solar power plants and LED lights in 18 Primary Health Centers in Bihar & Jharkhand State of India to enable 24/7 access to electricity.

    In India, PHCs represent the first tier of the health care system, providing a range of essential outpatient services to people living in rural, suburban, and hard-to-reach areas. However, one in every two Primary Health Centers in India suffers from an intermittent power supply.

    Primary health center

     

    The 18 selected Primary Health Centers provide care for 20-30,000 people from nearby rural villages, including delivering an average of 30-50 infants per month. This requires energy for lighting, refrigerators and fans. Most of these Primary Health Centers were entirely dependent on unstable grids and diesel generators as power backup. This caused a series of operational challenges for the staff working there, let alone the heavy carbon emission caused by burning diesel.

     

    The COVID-19 Pandemic has further put massive pressure on the health systems with the patient influx. Primary Health Centers have a pivotal role to play in promoting and delivering COVID-19 vaccinations on a mass scale.

    Solar Panels

     

    To support the Primary Health Centers with uninterrupted power supply, Signify Foundation partners with RDO Trust and FINISH Society to install 2.5Kw solar power plants with battery backup in 18 Primary Health Centers in Bihar & Jharkhand State of India. LED lights and fans are also installed in all critical and high usage areas in emergency rooms, labor rooms, laboratories etc. which enables 24/7 access to electricity and undisrupted operations.

    Flood lights in Hospitals

     

    Additionally, floodlights were installed outside of the Primary Health Centers to create a safe and illuminated passage for visitors to access the health center after sunset.

     

    System sustainability is always a challenge for projects in remote locations. This time, cloud-based remote monitoring systems were placed to monitor and analyze the system performance remotely.

    Medical Officer

    This is a 24/7 center. We cover about 140,000 people in 53 remote villages and carry out approximately 100 OPD daily. We have a backup generator for a power cut, but it was neither reliable nor affordable - sometimes causing serious issues during our operations. Now with the solar systems, we are very confident to carry out uninterrupted treatment for our patients.”  

     

    Dr. Avinash Kumar

    Medical Officer in charge at the Community Health Centre in Thawe, Gopalganj, Bihar

     

    Here about 125 to 150 deliveries happen per month. The electricity supply is good but power cut is also very frequent. Earlier, during a power cut, we were waiting for the generator to start or in an emergency, we were using mobile torches. Delivery is a very sensitive job, hence a power cut in that situation can be fatal. We are now free from the tension of power cut, due to the uninterrupted energy and light source. It is also very helpful during breastfeeding of the mothers.”

     

    Sweta Priyadarshi

    Staff Nurse

    Signify Corporate Social Responsibility program and the Signify Foundation continue to sustain their efforts toward ending the imbalance that leaves hundreds of millions of people without access to the simple health intervention of electric light.

    About the author:

    Rakesh Kumar Singh

    Rakesh Kumar Singh

    Corporate Social Responsibility Professional, Signify India

     

    For further information, please contact:

    Signify Foundation

    ­Email: signify.foundation@signify.com

     

    About Signify

     

    Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals, consumers and the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings and public spaces. In 2023, we had sales of EUR 6.7 billion, approximately 32,000 employees and a presence in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We have been in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index since our IPO for seven consecutive years and have achieved the EcoVadis Platinum rating for four consecutive years, placing Signify in the top one percent of companies assessed. News from Signify can be found in the Newsroom, on X, LinkedIn and Instagram. Information for investors is located on the Investor Relations page.

    Meydan Bridge

    More blogs

    • Financing climate action and reducing energy poverty

      September 22, 2022

      Financing climate action and reducing energy poverty

      Read more

    • Lighting up Health Centers in India

      April 06, 2022

      Lighting up Health Centers in India

      Read more

    • UV-C disinfection lighting: an ally in the frontlines of healthcare

      March 07, 2022

      UV-C disinfection lighting: an ally in the frontlines of healthcare

      Read more

    Contattaci per maggiori informazioni

    Contatti