Innovation: Africa
How do we capture sun energy to provide clean water and energy to villages in Malawi?
Since 2019, JBJ Foundation has partnered with Innovation: Africa and local teams on implementation of cutting-edge technology that can bring clean water and light in the Kwitanda catchment area. The work has positively impacted the lives of over 50,000 community members by improving educational results and access to health services.
APPROACH
JBJ Foundation supports Innovation: Africa’s implementation of cutting-edge solar driven technology to bring clean water and lights to schools, community health centers and villages in Malawi.
The innovation of solar powered pumps replaces the manual effort required to operate wells and boreholes, and allows to access and store large amounts of water that is trapped below the ground in the aquifers in dry regions. The solar water pumping systems can provide over 20,000 liters of clean water daily per village.
With solar panels on top of schools and medical clinics, children have sufficient lighting to conduct their school day and healthcare workers can properly refrigerate vaccines and provide medical care – both day and night.
CHALLENGE
Malawi’s energy and water shortages are multi-pronged: Only 11.4% of the population in Malawi have access to electricity and more than 4 million people lack access to safe water.
Water is essential for human survival and generates economic development wherever it flows. Fetching water however consumes many children’s entire days leaving them forced to forgo attending school, while the lack of energy and access to lights and electricity prevents healthcare staff to give adequate care to thousands of patients.
RESULTS
So far, the project has delivered clean, accessible water and lights in villages, classrooms, and medical centers impacting more than 50,000 lives by providing:
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Access to clean water to over 2,500 people in the Kwitanda catchment area.
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Access for 58 villages – ~47,000 people – to medical centers with electricity and critically needed medical equipment leading to a doubling of patients visiting health centers at night.
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Electricity in schools reaching over 1,800 students, teachers, and staff, with staff being confident that the students’ grades and passing rates will improve tremendously.
ABOUT THE PARTNERS
The National Planning Commission of Malawi was established through an Act of Parliament in 2017 with two main mandates: to coordinate the development of long - and medium-term national development plans for Malawi, and to oversee the implementation of those plans and coordinate the efforts of different stakeholders in achieving common objectives defined in the overall national development agenda.
The Copenhagen Consensus Center is an award-winning] think tank that researches the smartest solutions for the world’s biggest problems, advising policymakers and philanthropists how to spend their money most effectively.
"Innovation: Africa is honored to have a fruitful partnership with the JBJ Foundation which began in 2019. Since this time, together, we have brought clean water and light to villages, medical centers and schools in Malawi and impacted the lives of over 50,000 people!
Thanks to the JBJ Foundation's generous support, we have seen tremendous improvement in health, education, economic independence, and community development. We are so grateful to the JBJ Foundation for the support, which is changing the lives of thousands of people in Malawi
Sivan Ya'ari, CEO and Founder of Innovation: Africa
ABOUT THE PARTNER
For the past 12 years, Innovation: Africa has transformed over 3 million people's lives across 10 African countries with the benefits of Israeli solar and water technologies providing clean water and lights to rural African villages for the first time.