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Protecting Health in a Changing Climate

The ability to deliver medical care consistently and safely depends on access to power. Direct Relief has funded resilient power projects and medical oxygen infrastructure in the U.S. and 25 countries globally.

News

Health

A Direct Relief staffmember surveys solar panels on the roof of a health center in Puerto Rico.
Direct Relief staff inspect a solar energy system that was installed on the roof of a U.S. health center. (Direct Relief photo)
By Amy Weaver
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This story first appeared in Amy Weaver’s LinkedIn newsletter,
Direct Relief: Hope Ahead.

The inextricable link between climate and health has perhaps never been more evident.

Record-setting hurricanes. Wildfire seasons that now stretch nearly year-round. Extreme heat, flooding, and instability don’t just disrupt communities—they disrupt the health systems people rely on.

This raises a critical question: What does it take to protect health when the conditions around healthcare are becoming less predictable?

One part of the answer is resilient energy. The ability to deliver medical care consistently and safely depends on it.

Invisible Until It Fails

Modern healthcare relies on electricity. It powers cold chain infrastructure that keeps vaccines and other medications at the right temperature. It runs essential medical equipment. It enables digital health records and communications. Electricity is foundational to frontline care.

When the power goes out, care doesn’t simply pause. It breaks.

For communities already facing barriers to healthcare in the U.S. and around the world, outages can mean delayed treatment, spoiled medications, and missed opportunities to save lives. As climate-driven disasters become more frequent and severe, these disruptions are no longer rare events. They’re becoming the baseline.

I’ve seen the consequences firsthand, most recently in Hawaiʻi, where community clinics lost tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of vaccines and medications during extended power outages caused by extreme weather. For nonprofit clinics, there is little margin for loss. Fewer resources mean fewer patients receive care.

That’s why preparedness must begin long before a storm or wildfire strikes. This is where Direct Relief steps in, strengthening health systems so they can continue delivering care, even in crisis.

Local Clinics. Global Impact.

Chris Kelsch, Winters Healthcare Executive Director, shows a cold storage area for temperature-sensitive medications. The health center has a resilient power system that will provide consistent power during outages, protecting medications from spoilage. (Photo by Mark Semegen for Direct Relief)

In the United States, Direct Relief has funded the design and installation of solar-plus-storage microgrid systems at community health centers, free and charitable clinics, and tribal health facilities serving approximately 2.3 million patients each year—many of whom face significant barriers to care even under normal circumstances.

In Northern California, Direct Relief fully funded a solar-and-battery microgrid at longtime partner Winters Healthcare, a federally qualified health center serving Yolo County. For the more than 4,500 patients who rely on the facility annually—many of them agricultural workers—losing power can mean losing access to medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy services.

Construction begins on a new solar farm and medical oxygen facility, funded by Direct Relief, at F.J. Grante Memorial Hospital in Greenville, Liberia. (Courtesy photo)

Globally, Direct Relief’s resilient power projects now span 25 countries.

In southwestern Liberia, we supported a remote hospital with solar power and on-site medical oxygen—replacing unreliable diesel generators and enabling continuous care in a region without a stable electrical grid.

Medical staff demonstrate a newly installed medical oxygen system at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Anguilla. (Photo courtesy of OECS)

Across the Caribbean, we’re partnering with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, or OECS, to help hospitals operate independently during and after disasters—from resilient energy systems to medical oxygen infrastructure.

These systems do more than keep the lights on. They create stability amid uncertainty.

Direct Relief’s 155,000-square-foot headquarters and humanitarian distribution center for charitable medicine in Santa Barbara, California, has been equipped with a rooftop solar photovoltaic system and backup batteries since 2019. (Photo by Donnie Hedden for Direct Relief)

This same understanding informed Direct Relief’s investment in a resilient microgrid at our global distribution center, where millions of dollars’ worth of lifesaving medications are stored securely and at the correct temperature every day.

All of this reinforces a fundamental truth: climate resilience is health resilience. Addressing this growing risk requires more than emergency response. It requires planning ahead.

This is the work we’re committed to—on Earth Day and every day—helping healthcare providers prepare for today’s climate realities and what lies ahead.

— Amy

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