More than 12,800 inhabitants of the 87 native communities of Masisea will be able to receive care and timely treatment before COVID-19, thanks to the implementation of the photovoltaic electricity generation system that will supply electricity to the Oxygenation and Nebulization Area of the Masisea Health Center, Pucallpa, Ucayali.
At the national level, the challenges for the production and distribution of medical oxygen are both financial and logistical, due to the fact that several health facilities have irregular access to electricity; in addition to light generators in poor or unstable conditions, a situation that impairs the timely treatment of patients who require access to oxygen therapy.
In order to strengthen the first level of health care to close the existing gaps in access to oxygen therapy, the Rapid Response COVID-19 project in Peru of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with the NGO Socios En Salud (SES), joins the efforts of the Dirección Regional de Salud Ucayali, with the implementation of a sistema de generación eléctrica fotovoltaica para el abastecimiento de energía eléctrica para el uso de concentradores de oxígeno del Área de Oxigenación y Nebulización al C.S. Masisea.
Photo from left to right: Dr. Alvaro Lujan, coordinator of the COVID-19 Rapid Response Project of Partners In Health; Lic. Keily Mejia, director of the Coronel Portillo Health Network; Sarita Cauper, district mayor of Masisea; Obs. Olinda Córdova, head of the Masisea Health Center and M.C. Erick Omar Pinedo, head of the Masisea Micro-Network.
Solar panels: sustainable energy for the health sector
This investment of approximately $/. 62 000 will allow the supply of energy through the use of 44 solar panels with a capacity of 20kw, responsible for transforming the energy from sunlight into electrical energy, which will favor the adequate energy quality required by the oxygen concentrators used to provide oxygen therapy treatment to patients with COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases.
“By having adequate electricity, we expand the resolution capacity of the health system, allowing doctors to use the necessary equipment for the care of patients. In addition, this renewable energy will allow us to decrease the high costs of electricity, representing a sustainable and economic development in the region,”expressed Dr. Alvaro Lujan, coordinator of the Partners In Health COVID-19 Response project.
Photo: Marco Zambrano, professional of the Maintenance Area of Socios En Salud next to Eng. Nector Cornejo conducting training on the use and maintenance of solar panels and oxygen concentrators aimed at health personnel of the Masisea Health Center, Ucayali
Committed to building solid and equitable health systems
Update to April 25, 2023
Since the implementation of solar panels until today, approximately 1200 people have been directly benefited by the services of the C.S. Masisea, which have been carried out uninterruptedly thanks to the continuous supply of solar energy converted to electrical energy.
In that sense, the training to the personnel in charge of maintaining the solar panels and their batteries has been key to ensure that the photovoltaic electric generation system continues to function optimally and has sufficient capacity to supply electric energy not only to the Oxygenation and Nebulization area, but to the entire Health Center, which includes areas such as: Obstetrics, Dentistry, Psychology, Topical and Emergencies, Patient Observation, among others.
With respect to oxygen therapy treatment, and taking into account that the Health Center has not reported any COVID-19 cases for five months, between 25 to 40 patients attend monthly for oxygen support for acute respiratory infections and, to a lesser extent, for chronic respiratory infections.
From Socios En Salud we are committed to continue bringing to the most vulnerable populations the benefits of modern medicine in action with state-of-the-art infrastructure and technology, to eliminate gaps in the health sector and social injustice.