The solarisation seeks to ensure a 24-hour power supply for priority departments including maternity, operating theatre, laboratory, cold chain and water pumping.  A stable power supply will also improve service quality and patient safety for women, men and children by minimising outages that disrupt clinical care.

It will also lower recurrent energy costs and fuel use, allowing hospital resources to be redirected to frontline services. Shifting from generator to solar will help to build local technical capacity for operation and maintenance, supporting hospital self-reliance and accountability. The hospital incurred a substantial operational expense of USD 60,350 between February 2024 and January 2025 on diesel for its generator.

Already, 288 solar panels have been procured and are on site awaiting installation. The building that will host the panels is under renovation. The project is funded by ForAfrika Deutschland, Aid Pioneers, the E.ON Foundation, and the Next Energy Foundation, and is being implemented in close collaboration with ForAfrika Ethiopia, the Konso Development Association, and the zonal health department.

Aid Pioneers led the design, planning, procurement, and logistics of the project, drawing on corporate partnerships with Enpal, C&D Clean Energy, and others to significantly reduce overall costs. They also developed an innovative financial model, contractual framework, and repayment mechanism that will secure reinvestment into future solar energy projects. This model is particularly impactful, as it enables facilities like Karat Hospital, that would otherwise lack the upfront capital, to access solar energy, while also creating a scalable pathway to transition to clean, reliable power.

There are plans to upgrade the hospital from a primary facility to a general hospital. A general hospital operates multiple service points and provides standardised, higher‑quality services. Achieving this upgraded status will require adequate equipment and resources.

Lack of essential equipment

“The recent assessment shows that almost every service area at Karat Hospital is in need of additional equipment. This equipment will come as donations from the United States and Germany,” states Sika.

The donations, supported by Aid Pioneers and Project C.U.R.E., will include urgently needed three portable X-Rays, six mechanical ventilators, two operating tables with three sections with removable fixtures, 10 vital signs monitors and two washing machines. Others are 50 standard patient beds, 10 examination beds, five examination coaches and four refrigerators, among others.

Caesarean sections (C-sections) are the most frequently performed surgery at the hospital. They are followed by thyroid, hernia, intestinal obstruction, and trauma cases including bullet injuries. The hospital has one general surgeon, one obstetrician/gynaecologist, one integrated emergency surgical officer and eight anaesthetists.