238 clinics that no longer go dark: solar power for Nigeria's frontline health centres wins a global sustainability prize

A primary health centre that loses power loses more than light — vaccines warm in their fridges, women give birth by torchlight, and diagnostics stop. In Nigeria, eHealth Africa's Renewable Energy for Primary Health Care initiative, RE4PHC, has fitted solar power to 238 primary healthcare facilities across 12 states, funded by UNICEF Nigeria and built with government partners. Reliable electricity now keeps vaccine cold chains cold, supports maternal and child care, and lets clinics work around the clock. On October 26 the initiative was named Sustainable Initiative of the Year at AidEx 2026 in Geneva, one of the humanitarian sector's main gatherings. Accepting the award, eHealth Africa's Executive Director Atef Fawaz was clear about what the prize is really for: not the panels themselves, but what reliable energy makes possible for health workers, patients, families and communities. It is infrastructure in its least glamorous and most useful form — power that stays on, so care can too.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: infrastructure build