Gavi Solarises 1,700 Health Facilities Across Five Countries
Solar systems are keeping vaccines cold and clinics open in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Uganda and Zambia, backed by more than $30 million in investment.
Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Energy
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Gavi has solarised more than 1,700 primary healthcare facilities in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Uganda and Zambia, with the programme backed by more than $30 million in investment. The effort is improving vaccine and essential healthcare access for more than 140 million people.
Why it matters
Unreliable electricity has constrained healthcare delivery in remote and underserved areas, and power interruptions can expose vaccines to heat, causing wastage and disrupting immunisation. Solar power allows facilities to maintain vaccine cold chains and extend operating hours, including for emergency and night-time services.
Gavi has supported deployment of more than 66,400 solar-powered direct-drive vaccine refrigerators across lower-income countries over two decades, with Nigeria, Ethiopia, Pakistan and Uganda accounting for the largest facility counts in this round. The extraction does not report measured changes in vaccine wastage or coverage since installation.
The players
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Gavi is a global health partnership that finances vaccine delivery and immunisation programmes in lower-income countries.
The details
The solar power systems were delivered to primary healthcare facilities to address unreliable electricity supply, enabling vaccine refrigeration and extended services. Nigeria, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Uganda and Zambia are the countries named in the programme, which Gavi announced on November 11, 2026.
Timeline
Over the past two decades: Gavi supported deployment of solar-powered vaccine refrigerators.
November 11, 2026: Gavi announced results of the solarisation programme.
Over a 10-year operational period: solar refrigeration units are projected to prevent up to 153,024 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions.
Health Landscape
The programme extends Gavi's two-decade rollout of more than 66,400 solar-powered direct-drive vaccine refrigerators from individual cold-chain units to entire primary healthcare facilities. It reflects a broader shift toward using off-grid renewable energy to make health services in low-income countries less dependent on unreliable national grids.
Solar-powered facilities are designed to keep vaccines within safe temperature ranges even during grid outages, which can reduce vaccine wastage and keep immunisation services running. Over time, similar systems could make clinic hours and emergency care more dependable in areas without stable electricity.
The takeaway
Reliable power is a precondition for reliable vaccines and care, and solar systems offer a way to provide it where grids are weak. Tracking outcomes such as wastage and coverage will show whether the investment translates into healthier communities.
What happens next
Türkiye is hosting COP31 climate discussions, where the emissions benefits of solar-powered health infrastructure may be raised, though the stub does not confirm a specific agenda item.
Further reading
Explore more on Energy developments shaping clean power access worldwide.
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