AfDB & UNDP to aid Sudan with $85m 'Solar 4 Health' project

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and United Nations Development Programne (UNDP) plan on collaborating in Sudan to implement an energy project called Solar 4 Health.

The project which cost $85 million, aims to identify sustainable energy solutions for equitable access to health services in Sudan.

Talking to the local press, Selva Ramachandran, UNDP Country Director in Sudan said ‘implementing the project will help re-vitalize the agricultural sector and improve services in rural areas. The project will also improve living standards in Sudan where 46.7% of the population live under the poverty threshold.’

The #AfDB and UNDP discuss collaboration on increasing #energy access in #Sudan https://t.co/J31WLVQTGX

— AfDB_Group (AfDB_Group) March 8, 2016

Abdul Kamara, AfDB’s representative resident in Sudan, said the project falls under recommendations given at the recent COP 21 talks, while highlighting the participation of his institution in these talks.

Talks regarding collaboration for the project’s implementation, in which World Bank, European Union and UK’s Department for International Development, should take part, are ongoing.

Local news agency – Sudan Tribune – last year reported that the oil ministry signed an agreement with its South Sudanese counterpart to supply the electrical generation station in the White Nile state with crude oil from Adareel oil fields in the Upper Nile state.

The paper at the time said the Sudanese Electricity Distribution Company (SEDC) attributed power outages to fuel shortages at the electrical generation stations saying it developed a plan to secure power supply during summer and fall seasons.