Nearly 1 billion people get healthcare with no electricity: report

Geneva: Though electricity is critical for providing health care, close to 1 billion people in low and lower-middle-income countries get healthcare facilities with no electricity or unreliable electricity, says report.

A report from the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll) suggest that poor access to electricity hampers quality healthcare provision, news agency ANI reports.

Electricity is critical when it comes to delivering babies, managing emergencies like heart attacks, or providing lifesaving immunization.

A WHO press statement suggest without reliable electricity healthcare facilities, Universal Health Coverage cannot be brought to masses.

The report, Energizing Health: Accelerating Electricity Access in Health-Care Facilities highlights investments required to provide reliable electricity in health-care, and it suggested ‘key priority’ actions for governments too.

"Electricity access in healthcare facilities can make the difference between life and death," reportedly said Dr Maria Neira, Assistant Director-General a.i, for Healthier Populations at WHO.

The report pointed out how important electricity is for healthcare to power basic devices including lights and communications equipment, refrigeration, or devices for heartbeat and blood pressure.

However the joint report found that more than 1 in 10 health facilities in South Asia and sub-Saharan African countries lack any electricity access.

It added that access to power is unreliable for a full half of facilities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Despite progress in electrification in recent years, close to billion people worldwide still have no access to reliable electricity to receive healthcare.