Togo: Solar energy shines light on delivery rooms
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 Africa's 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 couldn't find a patient's 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.
By converting the sun's rays into electricity, this project:
- Enhances natural capital: Togo is taking advantage of a renewable and free resource.
- Develops human capital: healthcare professionals can now work in optimum conditions.
- Generates productive capital: electricity allows vaccines to be stored, provides light at night and improves care.
Revolutionary solar pump
At Dieudonné Farm, in the municipality of Bas-Mono, Dieudonné Samati Mawuèma starts his day by feeding his poultry and pigs, before tending to his maize, onions and solo papayas. In the past, field irrigation was a constant challenge. The fuel he required for his motor-operated pumps was expensive; there were unpredictable power outages; and crop yields were dependent on the weather. Climate change, resulting in erratic rainy seasons and extreme heat, only served to exacerbate this precarious situation.
However, the installation of a submersible solar pump has changed everything. The pump is powered by solar panels and can fill a 5,000-litre reservoir, enabling Mawuèma to irrigate his crops, protect his livestock during hot spells, and even provide water for his own household.
“I've saved a lot; I don't have any more bills to pay or fuel to buy,” he says with a smile. “The water is just there, available.” He has increased his production area by 50% and his yield by the same amount. With more cultivated land, he has expanded his workforce, creating jobs. “It's a way of giving back to my community, and I hope I can do even more of that in the future,” he adds.
The solar pump does more than boost Mawuèma’s productivity: he is also no longer at the mercy of unpredictable weather and fluctuating energy costs. His operation has become more profitable, more resilient and therefore more sustainable. Local markets such as Afagnan have also reaped the benefits of these improvements, with increased availability of fresh produce all year round.
“Lack of access to electricity is hindering economic development,” says Nabilou, the engineer. “By providing energy through solar technology, we are helping health centres to operate both day and night, to store vaccines and offer decent care to patients, and enabling families to study, launch micro-businesses and feel safe. As for the farmers, they can irrigate, produce more, deal with unpredictable weather better, and increase their income.”
As promising as it may be, the implementation of solar technology in rural areas requires appropriate monitoring and maintenance. “One of the challenges we face with solar projects is sustainability and maintenance over time,” explains Nabilou. “We plan to support the beneficiaries and provide training in best practice. We stay in close contact with communities to assist them over the long term.”
Over the past decade, the African Development Bank Group has made access to electricity one of its key priorities. Upon taking the helm of the institution in 2015, President Akinwumi Adesina launched what he referred to as the “New Deal on Energy for Africa”. Since 2015, the Bank Group's investments have underpinned the installation of nearly 12 gigawatts of energy capacity, the construction of 10,000 kilometres of transmission lines (at national and regional levels) and 70,000 km of distribution lines, as well as the provision of more than one million new power connections, benefiting more than 5.3 million people.
In 2024, the African Development Bank and the World Bank launched “Mission 300”, which aims to provide electricity to 300 million people in Africa by 2030. In the solar energy sphere, the Bank Group has also launched the “Desert to Power” initiative. Desert to Power is expected to establish the world's largest solar energy production zone in the Sahel by tapping the region’s solar potential, generating 10 GW of energy for 250 million people across 11 countries.
Cover photo:
By converting the sun's rays into electricity, this project:
- Enhances natural capital: Togo is taking advantage of a renewable and free resource.
- Develops human capital: healthcare professionals can now work in optimum conditions.
- Generates productive capital: electricity allows vaccines to be stored, provides light at night and improves care.
Revolutionary solar pump
At Dieudonné Farm, in the municipality of Bas-Mono, Dieudonné Samati Mawuèma starts his day by feeding his poultry and pigs, before tending to his maize, onions and solo papayas. In the past, field irrigation was a constant challenge. The fuel he required for his motor-operated pumps was expensive; there were unpredictable power outages; and crop yields were dependent on the weather. Climate change, resulting in erratic rainy seasons and extreme heat, only served to exacerbate this precarious situation.
However, the installation of a submersible solar pump has changed everything. The pump is powered by solar panels and can fill a 5,000-litre reservoir, enabling Mawuèma to irrigate his crops, protect his livestock during hot spells, and even provide water for his own household.
“I've saved a lot; I don't have any more bills to pay or fuel to buy,” he says with a smile. “The water is just there, available.” He has increased his production area by 50% and his yield by the same amount. With more cultivated land, he has expanded his workforce, creating jobs. “It's a way of giving back to my community, and I hope I can do even more of that in the future,” he adds.
The solar pump does more than boost Mawuèma’s productivity: he is also no longer at the mercy of unpredictable weather and fluctuating energy costs. His operation has become more profitable, more resilient and therefore more sustainable. Local markets such as Afagnan have also reaped the benefits of these improvements, with increased availability of fresh produce all year round.
“Lack of access to electricity is hindering economic development,” says Nabilou, the engineer. “By providing energy through solar technology, we are helping health centres to operate both day and night, to store vaccines and offer decent care to patients, and enabling families to study, launch micro-businesses and feel safe. As for the farmers, they can irrigate, produce more, deal with unpredictable weather better, and increase their income.”
As promising as it may be, the implementation of solar technology in rural areas requires appropriate monitoring and maintenance. “One of the challenges we face with solar projects is sustainability and maintenance over time,” explains Nabilou. “We plan to support the beneficiaries and provide training in best practice. We stay in close contact with communities to assist them over the long term.”
Over the past decade, the African Development Bank Group has made access to electricity one of its key priorities. Upon taking the helm of the institution in 2015, President Akinwumi Adesina launched what he referred to as the “New Deal on Energy for Africa”. Since 2015, the Bank Group's investments have underpinned the installation of nearly 12 gigawatts of energy capacity, the construction of 10,000 kilometres of transmission lines (at national and regional levels) and 70,000 km of distribution lines, as well as the provision of more than one million new power connections, benefiting more than 5.3 million people.
In 2024, the African Development Bank and the World Bank launched “Mission 300”, which aims to provide electricity to 300 million people in Africa by 2030. In the solar energy sphere, the Bank Group has also launched the “Desert to Power” initiative. Desert to Power is expected to establish the world's largest solar energy production zone in the Sahel by tapping the region’s solar potential, generating 10 GW of energy for 250 million people across 11 countries.
Cover photo: By AFDB
