Book Description

Energy is linked to many of the sustainable development priorities, including public health, gender equality, food security, clean water, education, economic growth, youth and women’s empowerment and climate action. The absence of clean and sustainable energy has a significant adverse impact on the health and livelihoods of the poorest populations. Around 2.3 billion people, mostly in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs), still mainly rely on inefficient and polluting fuels and stoves for daily cooking, exposing them to health-damaging emissions that result in millions of premature deaths each year. Health and livelihood risks are greatest for women and children as they are often tasked with cooking and gathering fuel. The traditional use of biomass for cooking also puts the environment and climate at risk by contributing to deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. Around 1 billion people worldwide, mostly in poor and rural communities, are estimated to be served by health care facilities without any electricity or reliable power supply, and only one in two hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa has a reliable electricity supply. Without adequate and reliable power, essential medical devices cannot function, basic amenities remain out of reach and delivery of health care services is of substandard quality. Unless rapid action is taken, the world will not meet its targets under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement. In November 2018, during the first World Health Organization (WHO) Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, announced his vision to build a Health and Energy Platform of Action (HEPA) to enhance multisectoral collaboration between the health and energy sectors and mobilize the political and financial commitments needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 and 7. In response, WHO, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, in cooperation with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and other key stakeholders, launched HEPA in May 2019, with an initial focus on improving health through promoting clean fuels and technologies for cooking and accelerating access to electricity for health care facilities. Following this announcement, in July 2020, HEPA members worked together to develop a strategic workplan with five overarching objectives to strengthen the cooperation between the health and energy sectors and elevate energy access as a key development priority area for public health, gender equity, climate and sustainable development more broadly (see Box 1). HEPA has gained significant momentum since its establishment in 2019. By October 2022 the platform had over 20 member organizations. All members are committed to working together and synergizing efforts on the ground to accelerate universal electrification of health care facilities and clean cooking. This HEPA action report summarizes the key activities and results achieved and highlights activities under each of HEPA’s five objectives.