To improve patients’ health care, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams in northern Nigeria are embracing solar energy to power hospitals that have historically depended on expensive fuel-intensive generators. By moving to renewable energy, communities in the region now have better, more sustainable access to lifesaving medical devices, medication, and infrastructure.
Before Zurmi General Hospital went solar, many of the staff were holding their breath. Some worried about how the change in power would affect medical operations.
“We have people on oxygen tanks,” said one MSF staff member, reminding the engineers about what was at stake.
Very quickly, those fears turned to relief. The transition went smoothly, and the electricity remained stable into the following days.
“Before, it was extremely challenging,” said Israel Mushore, the energy manager who worked on the project for five months. “Patients would be taken into surgery, and there was always the risk of a power cut in the middle of the procedure. Now, with solar power, we have a stable and reliable energy source.”
Patients would be taken into surgery, and there was always the risk of a power cut in the middle of the procedure. Now, with solar power, we have a stable and reliable energy source. – Israel Mushore, energy manager
For years, Zurmi General Hospital had been cut off from the national grid. Instead, it had to rely on generators that consumed more than 3,000 gallons of fuel each month. The system led to frequent and frustrating power disruptions.
Since installing 436 solar panels this year, the 250-kilowatt solar power system has consistently kept medical devices running and medications refrigerated, as well as enabling emergency surgical procedures. A battery backup system also ensures that hospital operations continue smoothly at night and during extended periods of cloud coverage. Patients in the hospital, including in maternity care, the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and the cholera unit, have seen their health care improve.
“I cannot overstate how the switch to solar panels has improved our ability to respond to malnutrition and pediatric emergencies by being able to better store vaccines and expand our outreach,” said Abdullahi Mohamed Ali, MSF head of mission in Nigeria.
At the same time, the introduction of renewable energy has strengthened the hospital’s ability to provide consistent, quality care in the long term. By changing the infrastructure—including what needs to be sourced, transported, stored, and paid for—the hospital is now better equipped to deliver more reliable and uninterrupted care.
And because solar power is a cleaner energy source, it leaves a smaller environmental footprint, reducing its contribution to the climate crisis already impacting communities around the world.
The impact of climate change on patients’ health
Climate-related shocks like droughts and floods are severely impacting agricultural productivity, disrupting access to land for livestock herders and farmers, and sparking competition over resources. This is fueling violence and displacement, leading to food insecurity and malnutrition across the region.
Hamida sits beside her daughter, who is suffering from malnutrition, in an inpatient therapeutic feeding center in the northwest.
Over the years, MSF teams in the eight northern states of Nigeria where MSF operates—including Zamfara state, where Zurmi General Hospital is located—have recorded a concerning rise in the number of severely malnourished children with life-threatening complications. In 2024, MSF treated over 300,000 children—an alarming 25 percent increase from 2023. Over 75,000 of these children required inpatient care. This year, in anticipation of an even higher number of patients suffering from malnutrition, MSF is in the process of increasing its bed capacity in some of our hospitals.
From the rising frequency of extreme weather events to violent land disputes stemming from drought-ravaged farmlands that have diminished crop yields, the connection between climate and health is stark.
-Abdullahi Mohamed Ali, MSF head of mission in Nigeria
MSF teams have also observed how years of changing weather—including warmer temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns—have enabled mosquitoes to breed more rapidly and thrive in new areas, increasing Nigerians’ exposure to malaria. According to 2023 numbers—the most recent data available from the World Health Organization (WHO)—Nigeria accounted for 26 percent of 263 million cases worldwide, with an estimated 6.8 million more cases since 2018.
“Every day, we witness how climate factors influence the health of communities around the world,” Mohamed Ali said. “From the rising frequency of extreme weather events to violent land disputes stemming from drought-ravaged farmlands that have diminished crop yields, the connection between climate and health is stark.”
Zurmi General Hospital initially relied on giant 65KVA generators to power the medical medical facility 24 hours a day. With the solar energy system in place, fuel consumption and carbon emissions will be significantly reduced, making health care more sustainable.
Stepping up efforts to mitigate climate change
Transitioning to renewable energy has meant that MSF can better respond to patients’ needs. By spending less money and time to source and transport costly fuel to keep generators going—especially in remote areas—MSF has been able to devote more resources toward other necessary costs to keep hospitals running and accessible to patients. We are already starting to see results with our other solar panel installations in Zamfara state—Talata Mafara and Gummi—and in Borno, Jigawa, Katsina, Bauchi, Kano, and Sokoto states.
“While there are still other steps to be taken to reduce MSF’s overall environmental impact, switching to solar power is part of our work to create a more sustainable solution that will benefit patients and communities,” Mohamed Ali added.
Culled from Doctors Without Borders
