Rural Health Facilities in Mongolia Now Have Reliable Power Supply

Power outages are still a common occurrence in rural Mongolia. These sporadic disruptions pose a serious threat to essential health services, including the quality and reliability of cold chains used for routine immunizations.

To provide a sustainable power solution, UNICEF Mongolia, with the financial support from the Government of Canada, has implemented a pilot   program of Health Facility Solar Electrification (HFSE) in 10 health facilities in rural areas with regular power outages. Over the course of more than a year, the program has demonstrated that 10kw photovoltaic (PV) solar panels   can ensure uninterrupted health services and maintain a high-quality cold chain system. An added benefit has been the reduction in electricity costs and CO2 emissions.

One of the pilot locations is the Bayanchandmani soum health facility in Tuv Province located 70 km north from Ulaanbaatar city. The doctor there has seen firsthand the advantages of the solar panels, especially during outages.   

“Even yesterday, there was a power outage across our soum for the entire day, but our health facility continued operating as usual,” said Dr. Yargui.T, the General Practitioner.  She added, “Recently, we had a child patient with breathing difficulties during a power cut. Fortunately, we were able to treat them using our oxygen concentrator, thanks to the PV solar panels.” 

These solar panels not only ensure the continuity of essential health services without risking any child’s life and immunization efforts in rural areas, but they also offer a climate-smart energy solution—reducing monthly electricity bills by an average of 30%. Mongolia, especially in the central and southern regions, receives abundant sunlight throughout the year, making it an ideal location for an expanded HFSE initiative.

There is a growing need to scale up HFSE across rural Mongolia to ensure uninterrupted health services—including immunizations—for more children living in remote areas. Further HFSE interventions will be well aligned with the Government of Mongolia’s commitment under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of 22.7% by 2030 as well as to the ambition to increase renewable energy sources so that the country becomes energy independent.