The WE CARE Solar Suitcase is helping to address the issue of a lack of electricity in health care facilities throughout the developing world.
Death from pregnancy-related causes is 1 in 120 for women in the developing countries – in Nigeria, it’s 1 in 13. Most of these deaths occur in regions where health facilities do not have access to a reliable electricity supply. In these regions, medical procedures are often performed by candlelight or under the sub-standard and polluting lighting of kerosene lanterns.
The WE CARE solar suitcase includes LED medical task lighting, a universal cell phone charger, a battery charger for AAA or AA batteries and 12V DC outlets for other devices. The basic system comes with 40 or 80 watts of solar panels and a 12 amp-hour sealed lead-acid deep cycle battery. The system is designed for expansion and can support up to 200 watts of solar panels and a 140 amp-hour battery.
“Using solar technology to power LED lights, mobile communications, blood bank refrigerators and other medical devices means women can deliver babies more safely and hospitals need not turn people away at night,” says Dr. Laura Stachel, the Berkeley obstetrician/gynaecologist who co-founded WE CARE in 2009.
Improved lighting allows for better identification and treatment of complications such as haemorrhage and obstetric lacerations. Caesarean sections can also be performed throughout the night. The solar-powered communications allow a surgical crew to be alerted of obstetric emergencies requiring immediate surgery and blood refrigeration means life-saving transfusions can occur without delay.
Dr. Stachel went to Northern Nigeria in 2008 to study ways to lower maternal mortality in state hospitals and was shocked by the conditions she found. Dr. Stachel and her husband Hal Aronson, a solar energy educator in Berkeley, California, then set about developing a suitcase-sized prototype. Its benefits were immediately recognised and WE CARE was born.
Over 100 Solar Suitcases are now in use in 14 countries, including Nigeria, Liberia and Haiti. Deployments of the portable solar power system are supported by donations from individuals and family foundations.
WE CARE Solar was recently named a laureate of the Tech Awards 2011 in recognition of its work.
