Absence of electrical infrastructure in remote rural locations is prohibiting cold storage of polio vaccines, thereby, putting the future of more than 34 million children under age of five at stake. These vaccines are sensitive to heat which affects their efficacy.
According to experts related to Polio Eradication Programme, Pakistan - being one of the three polio-endemic countries - in the world needs to overcome these hiccups to make the anti-polio campaign fruitful.
They explained that as per the vaccine storage conditions prescribed by World Health Organisation for oral polio vaccines, the temperature required for its storage is -15°C to -25°C whereas during the campaign it is recommended to be stored and transported at +2°C to +8°C. However, it is difficult to store vaccines at the required temperature due to the ever increasing electricity problems in Pakistan. During the vaccination drive across the country it has been witnessed by the polio eradication teams that there are thousands of villages whose inhabitants live in the dark and survive a meager existence without any electricity. While those in the cities suffer because of load shedding some 60 million or 48.6 percent Pakistanis have no access to electricity, they said.
The limited availability of fossil fuels coupled with their rising import cost has forced the general public to make provisions for their own with domestic generators. In addition, the widely used energy sources, such as biomass and kerosene are the leading cause of health problems in rural areas and the chopping down of forests has been one of the biggest contributors to landslides and flooding.
They elaborated that presently 64 percent of Pakistan's electricity is produced with fossil fuels while the rest comes from hydro and nuclear sources. Some claim that the frequent power cuts across Pakistan today are indicative of an emerging prosperity as there is fast rising demand for electricity. And yet, the failure to meet the demand is indicative of a challenge to that very prosperity. The main problem with Pakistan's poor power generation is political instability, together with surging population and an inefficient distribution network. In this scenario, renewable energy sources like solar power provide the best solution. Environment friendly solar panels carry on through rain, dust and snow and work for an average period of about 20 to 25 years. With sun availability up to 16 hours per day on average and a total energy resource estimated at 100,000 MW, Pakistan is primed for solar energy.
Although solar power may seem like an ideal solution, the initial cost is high which inhibits growth in the local market, especially for the end-consumer. What consumers fail to perceive is the long-term benefits and return due to its zero maintenance cost.
To make it financially feasible, many countries have launched innovative schemes. Grameen Shakti in Bangladesh has recently crossed a million solar powered homes record in rural areas. Using microfinance, the monthly cost becomes attractive enough to even the lowest income hand. Germany has the highest solar energy deployment in the world because of government subsidised solar cells as well as an innovative scheme in which consumers can plug in their domestic solar systems to the national grid to receive a rental from the government. In order to fund such projects in Pakistan, external source of financing is needed, mostly on the back of financial aid. Another source could be low interest, long term production loans through Islamic financing. Such ideas are being pursued by organisations in Pakistan, one being Pak Ujala, which uses technology to lower the cost of equipment as well as providing a reasonable financial solutions to consumers.
Using such techniques, and with solar power proliferation in the country increasing, Pakistan may yet see better, brighter days ahead. Solar energy could be used to power clinics and schools all over the country. We could set up drug banks for the poor in the most remote areas and using solar powered chillers maintain the efficacy of all medicines.
Warren Buffet, billionaire philanthropist, has some very relevant words to share; "Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks."