We Care Solar

Every woman has the right to a safe delivery in a well-lit health center, and we are pleased to be launching our national "Light Every Birth" initiative in Malawi, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and other cherished stakeholders.

We are proud to be partnering with the Malawi Ministry of Health on a national initiative to improve maternal and newborn outcomes called "Light Every Birth." Every mother has the right to a safe delivery in a well-lit health center.

The ministry of Health has conceded that the country is still lagging behind in reducing martenal and neonatal mortality cases, a development it says requires concerted efforts to contain.

Deputy minister of Health Halima Daudi made the remarks today during the launch of Lighting Every Birth Initiative at Dzoole Health Centre in Dowa a project that has been made possible in collaboration with We Care Solar organisation.

Daudi added that power outages are a major setback in labour wards and the initiative will assist in saving lives of expectant women and newborns.

Founder for We Care Solar, Dr. Laura Stachel indicated that their main objective is to assist Malawi and other African countries curb mortality rate by ensuring adequate power provision in martenity wards.

Malawi's martenal mortality ratio is estimated at 381 per 100,000 live births way above the 2030 target of 70 per 100,000 livebirths.

(by Dickson Chivwati Gondwe-Lilongwe:08/14/24)

We Share Solar has reached a significant milestone—our first-ever Youth STEM workshops in South Sudan! 🇸🇸

In partnership with EDC and with trainers from Women In Sustainable Energy And Entrepreneurship Coop Society Ltd we spent two incredible days with 30 students, alongside teachers who participated in our “Train the Trainer” workshop and supporting administrators, with the skills to harness solar energy and drive sustainable change. Thank you to Humane Aid For Community Organization - HACO and Junub Open Space - JOS for hosting our workshops.

Our We Share Solar Curriculum is a unique program that combines hands-on learning with impactful community service. Students build solar suitcases, providing clean, reliable energy to communities while gaining invaluable knowledge in STEM and sustainability. This initiative is part of the USAID Youth Empowerment Activity implemented by Education Development Center, made possible by the generous support of the American people. Together, we're lighting the path to a brighter future! ☀️🔧

Installation day! Solar Panels are mounted to the roof. A Solar Suitcase finds a new home in labor and delivery, and a health center gets reliable light and power for safe deliveries. Thank you to our installers this week: Bernadette Mwasikakata, Joshua Mkwapatira, Pius Chalamanda, and Venancio Bonongwe.

Today, the Kazyozyo Health Center in Malawi got the gift of a Solar Suitcase - reliable light and essential power for safe deliveries. Thanks to our wonderful installers and Eunice Mwandira, our Country Manager. We're thrilled to .

Kudos to our amazing team for creating a successful launch of Light Every Birth in Malawi, especially Country Program Manager Eunice Mwandira and Deputy Africa Regional Director, Feza Greene. You both made magic happen in Malawi!

Today marks a significant milestone for We Care Solar as we proudly launched our Light Every Birth Initiative at Dzoole Health Centre in Malawi! 🇲🇼

Our mission is to save lives by ensuring that health facilities have access to safe, reliable electricity through our innovative We Care Solar Suitcases.

This initiative wouldn't be possible without the incredible support of our partners:

USAID, AMREF Flying Doctors, CRI Foundation, Puma Energy Foundation, USAID MOMENTUM, Marks Family Foundation, The Judith Neilson Foundation, and The Meadow Fund.

We are honored that Deputy Minister of Health, Halima Alima Daudi, joined us and shared her thoughtful remarks.

Together with the Ministry of Health in Malawi, we are lighting the way for safer births across the country.

Light Every Birth comes to Malawi on August 14th! We are excited to join with the Ministry of Health and our partners to celebrate this imporrant milestone.

Happy to have arrived in Malawi in preparation for our National Launch. Today's meetings included one with our Malawi Country Program Manager, Eunice Mwandira, our Deputy Africa Regional Director, Feza Greene, and our partner from AMREF, Country Director Hester Nyasulu. Together, we can

We are so excited to launch our 6th national Solar Suitcase program when Light Every Birth comes to Malawi!

We Care Solar's Dr. Laura Stachel enjoyed participating in this episode of "Voices of Sustainability" by Zayed Sustainability Prize, discussing sustainable practices in global health equity with Harish Hande (SELCO Foundation) and Frank Beadle de Palomo (Mothers2Mother). Tune in for a great discussion.

Voices of Sustainability – Episode 38: Global Health Equity: Leaving No One Behind Join us for the 38th episode as we explore the groundbreaking solutions and collaborative efforts that are advancing universal healthcare coverage. Our exper...

How can your donation change lives?

We Care Solar envisions a world where all women survive childbirth, obtain life-saving care without unnecessary delays, and give birth with dignity in well-lit health facilities. 💡

To date, we have equipped 9,271 health facilities, serving over 16 million mothers and newborns, thanks to you.

Click here to contribute to our mission: https://wecaresolar.org/donate/

What does this photo look like to you? To us, it looks like 100 Solar Suitcases and solar panels arrived in Sierra Leone. It looks like energy-poor frontline health facilities will be getting the gift of light and better healthcare! We send our thanks to our Ministry of Health colleagues, for working with us to ensure these mighty boxes of power will be able to find their way to dozens of communities in need.

It's July 4th - Happy Independence Day! As solar evangelists, we are celebrating independence from fossil fuels, greenhouse gases, and grid-tied electricity. In Malawi, we are celebrating the graduation of our newest cohort of solar installers!

Today's the day! We're excited that our newest cohort of Malawi solar installers are being trained by Merritt Eby Gates and Wadson Muchemwa - both long time colleagues and friends of We Care Solar. Merritt was one of our first Women Solar Suitcase installers - joining us in 2012 and subsequently relocating to Uganda. Wadson is the "father" of our Solar Suitcase programs in Zimbabwe. He has installed hundreds of Solar Suitcases and joined our board. The women and men in our Malawi training are in for a real treat as they prepare to equip hundreds of health facilities with Solar Suitcases.

Don't forget! Join Dr. Julie Yemi-Jonathan, We Care Solar Nigeria Country Manager, as she discusses the IHP project's strategies to strengthen primary health care in Nigeria.

Julie has been instrumental in implementing the Light Every Birth program in Kebbi and Bauchi states.

Don't miss "Efficient, Equitable, and Quality Health Systems: Investments in the Structure and Function of Primary Health Care" on Wed, Jun 26, 7:30 AM - 8:45 AM PDT. Register here: https://ow.ly/As0E50SoL4B

Mark your calendar! We Care Solar Nigeria Country Manager, Julie Yemi-Jonathan will be a panelist on this webinar that will explore evidence-based strategies that the IHP project deployed to strengthen primary health care structure and function in Nigeria. Julie has led our Light Every Birth program in Kebbi and Bauchi state, working in partnership with state and local governments. Join us for "Efficient, Equitable, and Quality Health Systems: Investments in the Structure and Function of Primary Health Care" on
Wed, Jun 26, 7:30 AM - 8:45 AM PDT
Register here: https://bit.ly/qualityhealthsystems

Happy Father's Day! Today we celebrate all the fathers who have ensured that their partners and babies safely deliver in a well-lit health center.

We have a great update from Tanzania. Our partners at the President's Office - Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG) have signed our MOU and Light Every Birth Tanzania can officially begin! We are thrilled to build upon our past pilot programs in Tanzania to ensure that every mother can access a well-lit health center

Solar energy is not luxury; it is a lifesaver. These midwives in Ethiopia know firsthand how essential it is to have reliable lighting and power for safe childbirth.

photo:Liz Hale

Happy World Environment Day! If healthcare were a country, it would be the 5th largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Our Solar Suitcases have brought clean energy to more than 8,600 facilities, averting more than 111,000 tons of CO2. We are demonstrating that what is good for quality healthcare is also good for the environment.

With record heatwaves, wildfires, floods, tropical storms and hurricanes increasing in magnitude and frequency, we commend The World Health Assembly for passing the Climate Change and Health resolution last week, marking a global commitment to mitigating climate change and its effects on health.

World Health Assembly passes historic resolution on climate change & health, urging countries to take action The resolution marks the WHO’s commitment to encourage support for implementing policies and strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change on health  

The Leona Clinic in Hwange District, Zimbabwe received the gift of light, power, and hope when our team installed a Solar Suitcase this month. Mike Chijekwere, the Nurse in Charge, recounted the challenge of working in near darkness. "At times it’s scary because you are not actually seeing the patient or doing the right thing. You can't bring the candle too close because you might burn someone." He and his staff were thrilled to receive their new Solar Suitcase. "If you have good lighting, you can do what you do best."

At the Health Innovation Exchange (HIEx) side event to the World Health Assembly, we had the honor of presenting our Light Every Birth initiative and our ambition to build upon our past success by lighting up 10,000 health facilities in sub-Saharan African in the next few years.

We are delighted to be a part of the Health Innovation Exchange marketplace at the World Health Assembly in Geneva. We are showcasing our efforts to support health facility resilience in the face of climate change. Solar power offsets the use of fossil fuels making for a cleaner greener health system.

In Nigeria, our partners at IHP celebrated a successful maternal health program in five states. We Care Solar Nigeria Country Program Manager Julie Yemi-Jonathan was on hand to display the Solar Suitcase, a technology that has been instrumental in improving uptake of quality skilled care. Along with Julie, these photos show the acting Executive Secretary of the Public Health Care Board (PHCB) of FCT, local installers, and Marta Levitt, who leads IHP.

In one month, the will close submissions for its 2025 award cycle. As a Prize alum, we've seen the profound impact winning has on driving growth and impact.

Apply now at ZayedSustainabilityPrize.com

Every health center is entitled to reliable light and electricity. In Zimbabwe, health workers learn to use their new Solar Suitcases, ensuring that mothers and newborns can deliver safely through the night.