| Work Detail |
As night falls on the Batonou Health Centre on the Mono River, which forms the international boundary between Togo and Benin, Victorine Ablavi, nurse, midwife and head of the peripheral care unit, is busy at her examination table. Just a few years ago, she would have been forced to go about her duties in the dark, with a torch held between her teeth or hung around her neck. But tonight, courtesy of recently installed solar panels, a bright light illuminates the room. leaving Ablavi’s hands free and ensuring that every move she makes is much safer. Electricity, so commonplace in urban environments, has become an essential resource in this rural facility – as vital as medicine and drinking water. The Batonou Health Centre is a perfect example of what it means to “make Africas capital work for its development.” Here, in this rural village, the sun – the abundant natural resource that bathes the continent in light and heat – has ceased to be a mere meteorological phenomenon and become a form of productive capital. At least 600 million people in Africa have no access to electricity, many of them in rural areas. “We would work in the dark, running the risk of cutting ourselves with sharp instruments and injuring patients,” says Ablavi, visibly emotional as she reflects on 29 years of caring for her community. “Sometimes we couldnt find a patients vein when we were administering an injection. It was so dangerous.” One tragedy remains etched in her memory. A young mother suffering from postpartum hemorrhage could not be given proper treatment due to a lack of light and died while being rushed to the nearby town of Afagnan. “Now that kind of thing can’t happen anymore,” she says with conviction. And that is due in no small part to the Project to Support the Social Component of the CIZO Rural Electrification Programme (PRAVOST) in Togo. Funded by the African Development Bank, in partnership with the European Union and the Togolese government, the project provides off-grid solar solutions in isolated rural areas. It forms part of a wider program known as “CIZO,” which extends across the entire country and aims to provide affordable individual solar kits to over two million citizens, or 300,000 households. Six solar panels have been installed in the Batonou peripheral care unit. Bulbs now light up every room, while two certified fridges keep vaccines and maternity-related items in good condition. “The team can now see clearly, and so we can work effectively,” says Ablavi. PRAVOST has already brought electricity to 314 health centres in Togo and continues to extend access. In some remote clinics, a lack of hot water poses additional challenges. Consequently, the project has equipped 122 centres with solar-powered water heaters, ensuring proper hygiene and safer treatment. In the view of Amy Nabilou – an electrical engineer at the Togolese Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Agency (AT2ER) and head of the PRAVOST project – solar energy simply made the most sense. “Solar energy is clean, renewable and available in Togo,” she explains. “It meets the climate challenges and is simple to roll out.” But how can Africa make better use of its endogenous resources – its natural, human and financial capital – to reduce its dependence on costly external funding? The PRAVOST project exemplifies the theme of the African Development Bank Group’s 2025 Annual Meetings: Making Africa’s Capital Work Better for Africa’s Development. |
