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Lights On: Burundi Hospital’s Maternal Health Unit Powered by Solar Energy
After a resilient energy system was installed at Village Health Works hospital in Kigutu, Burundi, doctors and patients are better able to serve patients.
Kigutu hospital staff say both patients and doctors are less stressed now that they can rely on solar energy as a consistent source of power throughout the hospital. (Photo by Julia Cumes for Village Health Works)
The monitors beep as doctors prepare for a cesarean. The suction machine and the bed warmer are arranged for the incoming baby.
Unexpectedly, the lights go out, followed by all of the electrical medical equipment. The temperature of the room quickly begins to escalate.
Doctors, nurses, and midwives stand still, holding their breath as they count the seconds, sometimes minutes, that pass until the lights return. This is their nightmare.
That’s how Yvan Mugisha, a fourth-year medical resident, described the intensity a medical team endures during unstable electricity at the Village Health Works hospital in Kigutu, Burundi.
“The patients are worried,” he said. “Are the nurses and doctors able to see what they are doing when their hands are inside the patient’s body?”
In Burundi, a small East African country, unstable electricity is a constant. The country’s electrical infrastructure is outdated and underfunded. The country, and large entities like the hospital, have relied on hydropower and diesel generators for power. According to documents from the African Development Bank Group, Burundi government officials are working to increase the availability and use of hydropower.
However, in April, the Kigutu Hospital’s power issues changed for the better. Staff reported 111 women received safe surgeries with zero power interruptions. Through support from organizations like Direct Relief’s Power for Health program, the hospital installed solar panels and a battery system to support its power needs. The increased capacity has created a stable environment for patients that includes consistent lighting, air conditioning, and power for medical tools.
Village Health Works solar power system supports the hospital’s Women’s Pavilion, which includes patient rooms, operating theaters, and the NICU. (Photo by Bonaparte Sengabo for Village Health Works)
BONAPARTE SENGABO FOR VILLAGE HEALTH WORKS
Chrystina Russell, Chief Strategy and Development Officer at Village Health Works, said the solar energy has allowed the hospital to decrease its use of diesel fuel by 75%. Russell said it’s a significant financial savings that will allow the hospital to do more for patients.
The switch to solar power has also decreased anxiety among hospital staff and patients.
Improved Working Conditions
Dr. Silvia Awor, an obstetrician and gynecologist, moved from Uganda to Burundi to join Village Health Works in August 2025. The physician said she’s glad the “disco” of on-and-off lights in the operating room no longer exists.
The hospital’s operating rooms lack windows and become pitch black when the power goes out. Dr. Awor said she constantly worried during late evening and early morning surgeries. In the dark, all work must stop, and panic ensues.
“The mental health was getting out of hand, especially at night,” she said. “If you need to resuscitate a baby and the lights go off, even the respirator goes off. When oxygen is not available, we have to use the oxygen concentrator, and it’s just stress after stress after stress.”
Awor said the staff endured heartbreaking situations through the power outages. As the light flickered, they still had to provide care.
“When the lights are going on and off, incidents could happen in the labor ward, especially when we are delivering babies,” she said. “The mother is pushing, and the lights go off, and you can see the stress on the health workers.”
Mugisha agreed and said the inconsistent power led to dangerous situations. He worried about longer surgeries and the lack of access to air conditioning. At the time, medical staff endured temperatures exceeding 32 degrees Celsius. With the updated solar system, the air conditioning is set to 23 degrees Celsius. Mugisha said staff and patients are more comfortable and can focus on improving health conditions.
Obstetricians, midwives, and nurses work alongside one another within the Women’s Pavilion of Village Health Works’ Kigutu Hospital. (Photo by Julia Cumes for Village Health Works)
“It’s really amazing,” he said. “Most buildings (in Burundi) don’t have it (air conditioning). So for us, we now work more comfortably…it has made things better.”
Mugisha said the hospital continues to make improvements with patient care as a top priority. He has seen ongoing improvements over the years, but said he is most thankful for consistent and reliable energy so that staff can focus on improving patient health.
“It’s a privilege for me to help a mother give birth,” he said. “The fact that we are helping the mother and children, I feel like I am doing my part in this world.”
Happy Mothers, Healthy Babies
The hospital serves a rural population of 200,000 people across Burundi and into the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. According to Village Health Works, the hospital is seven miles from the nearest paved road. The Kigutu Hospital and Women’s Pavilion was completed in 2023, and Village Health Works previously operated through an outpatient clinic.
Given so many women must travel long distances to get to the hospital, most arrive a week prior to their due date to ensure time for a safe delivery.
Belyse Turikumwenayo gave birth to all four of her children at Village Health Works institutions. The eldest children, ages six, five, and three, were born at the outpatient clinic. Turikumwenayo said she was blessed not to have any birth complications, as the clinic did not have stable power at the time.
Her youngest child, born at the end of March, was born in the hospital.
Turikumwenayo, speaking through an interpreter, said she was blessed not to have complications throughout the births of all four of her children. However, she felt anxious during the birth of the first three at the clinic, which did not have stable power at the time. Her mind was racing, she said.
“What’s going to happen to me if the lights go out? What’s going to happen to my baby?
She said the delivery of her fourth child was a completely different experience.
“To have your mind at peace is a big improvement,” she said.
Turikumwenayo is also a patient caretaker for Village Health Works. The mother of four said cesarean patients and their doctors previously expressed high levels of anxiety as they worried about complications due to power outages.
“Every time there is a power cut, the life of these babies is at risk,” she said. “It’s not only for the mother and her baby, but the doctor as well.”
As a patient caretaker, Turikumwenayo said it’s her job to make patients feel comfortable and at peace. She said that many hospital patients feel isolated amid ongoing concern for their health. Those feelings were amplified when patients had to sit in the dark.
“When there is no electricity, everybody is a little bit lonely,” she said.
Since the upgraded solar system was installed, the caretaker said patient morale has significantly increased. Her work environment is less stressful, and she believes the patients are less angry and agitated, which makes it easier for her to provide assistance.
“There are some patients that come here, get treated, discharged, and refuse to leave,” she said, laughing. “They have become too comfortable.”
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