Powering children’s futures
UNICEF is harnessing solar energy to keep health systems, schools and water facilities running
Hundreds of millions of children around the world live without access to electricity, a fundamental resource that shapes their well-being and opportunities in life. In many regions, this absence of power not only limits their access to education, healthcare, and essential services but also perpetuates cycles of poverty and vulnerability.
Amidst these challenges, UNICEF has been at the forefront of efforts to provide consistent and reliable solar power where it is needed most. By working with partners and solar manufacturers to plug the energy gap, UNICEF is helping to empower children through improved access to critical services, ultimately strengthening their capacity to persevere and succeed despite adversities.
Keeping vaccines cold
The humanitarian crisis in Yemen has placed immense strain on its healthcare system, pushing it perilously close to collapse. Many critical services are no longer operational because of the lack of reliable electricity. One of the main challenges faced by healthcare workers is the absence of adequate cold chain equipment and facilities for vaccines, essential for maintaining them at the precise temperatures necessary to prevent spoilage.
UNICEF has stepped in with solutions that have made a big difference. More than 1,700 vaccine refrigerators and 10 cold rooms have been installed in Yemen - all powered by solar energy. The uninterrupted sunlight plays a pivotal role in ensuring the continuity of one of the most vital childhood healthcare services during these turbulent times.
Somaya Ahmed Ahmed Fattah, a parent whose child received life-saving vaccinations this year, can testify to the impact of UNICEF's efforts:
“I never miss a vaccine appointment, thanks to the doctors who provide us with specific appointments, and we do not forget them because we also have vaccination cards.”
In more than 80 countries, UNICEF has supported the solarization and off-grid energy solutions for vaccine storage, electrification, and heating and cooling at health facilities and medical warehouses.
Since 2017, UNICEF has supported the installation of more than 88,000 solar cold-chain vaccine fridges in healthcare facilities, mostly in Africa.
The reliability of solar-powered vaccine storage helps to ensure that children receive the critical immunizations they require. It also serves to rekindle faith in the healthcare system's ability to deliver essential services, offering a glimmer of hope amidst the chaos.
From darkness to light
UNICEF is connecting schools and learning centres to renewable energy to ensure systems are sustainable. Energy access is critical to support digital learning, providing children and young people with the skills they need to improve their prospects and safeguard their well-being.
In Zambia, over half of all schools operate without access to a power source, resulting in reduced learning hours for children and leaving no opportunity for lesson revision after regular school hours. The absence of electricity also limits access to essential educational tools like computers and printers, affecting effective teaching and the availability of learning resources.
In collaboration with partners, UNICEF worked to improve power supply and create a comfortable environment for students to continue their education. The outcome was the installation of solar panels in 19 schools across various regions of Zambia, benefiting more than 6,000 students. However, it wasn't just electricity that arrived – it was also children who had dropped out of school during the COVID-19 pandemic and others from marginalized and vulnerable communities.
Mike Simukoko (16), a resident of Katete district of Zambia and grade-12 student at Katiula Combined School, also an aspiring lab technician, enthusiastically shares his experience:
"The solar panels are providing us with light in the dark. We are now able to study even in the evenings and are able to catch up with our studies."
Clean, safe water
In 2020-2021, UNICEF’s Global Solar Water Pumping Programme — active in 51 countries — installed nearly 3,000 solar-powered water systems in schools, healthcare facilities and communities in rural, urban, disaster-prone, and conflict-affected contexts.
Afghanistan is a country grappling with the dual challenges of severe water scarcity and a shortage of accessible water services. This unfortunate combination makes the country highly vulnerable to climate shocks and extreme weather events. Faced with these difficulties, many communities are left with limited options for accessing water. They rely on contaminated surface water and dirty streams, sporadic and costly water truck deliveries, shallow wells that offer neither reliability nor safety, or boreholes powered by diesel generators that frequently break down.
This situation vividly illustrates the daily hardships endured by Afghan communities, where the most essential resource, clean water, remains scarce when it should be abundant.
In response to the pressing water access crisis, UNICEF has initiated a program to drill boreholes, extracting groundwater through solar-powered pumps and, when needed, purifying it using a solar-powered reverse osmosis system. The result is the delivery of clean, safe water directly to the heart of communities. Since 2016, UNICEF has successfully installed 1,100 such solar-powered water systems across Afghanistan. These systems represent more than just access to water; they offer an opportunity to build more resilient communities in the face of climate-induced challenges.
