The Elecnor Foundation starts its collaboration with Africa

As part of the Social Infrastructure area, one of the three areas contemplated by the Elecnor Foundation, the first project of the association in Africa has just started, specifically, in Ghana.

To set the conditions for this project, the Elecnor Foundation started working with two Spanish congregations with deep-seated roots in the country. Thanks to their years of hard work and dedication, they have managed to build and organise two hospitals and three health centres. These installations have been worthy of awards from the Ministry of Health of Ghana on several occasions. The congregations in question are the Sisters Hospitallers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Sisters of Charity of Saint Anne.

The congregation of the Sisters Hospitallers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus has been dealing with the San Francisco Javier Hospital, in Assin de Fosso, for several years now. To get an idea of its size and the work involved, it is sufficient to mention some of the data corresponding to 2010: dealing with 150,000 patients, 4,000 of whom underwent surgery; more than 150,000 clinical analyses, some 4,300 X-rays and so on.

One of the problems this hospital has to face is the obsolescence of its electrical installations, which means there is a very high risk of interruption or unstable functioning of its power supply. It is well known that a common feature of developing countries is usually a lack of stability in terms of the continuity and quality of the power supply, hindering and increasing the price of most power-dependent services.

To help face this dangerous risk, the Elecnor Foundation has undertaken the Solar Back-Up Systems Project, which consists of the installation of 21 inverter/charger systems linked to a series of deep-cycle batteries and backed up by solar panels, ensuring adequate power supply to the most vulnerable medical services, for example surgery, maternity, emergencies, laboratory and administration.

These direct current panels will link directly to the alternate grid through a grid inverter with the same output. Thus, in the event the back-up is not required, the energy generated by the panels is not lost, but fed into the grid, reducing the hospital's overall electricity consumption.

As its formal starting point to this commitment to the country, the Elecnor Foundation signed a collaboration agreement with the Ghanaian Ministry of Energy in the capital of the country, Accra, on 25 April, which symbolises the official support to the first project in Africa.