Shortly after 6:00 a.m., a woman at full term arrived at Saint-Nicolas Hospital in Saint-Marc in labor. Her condition rapidly deteriorated when the fetus’s heart rate began to decline. The medical team decided to perform a cesarean section. The anesthesiologist was called, and the patient was prepared. But just as the procedure was about to begin, the operating room lost power.
The team had to contact the technicians and administration to restore power before they could resume treatment.
For Dr. Nolène Franck, that morning demonstrated in a very concrete way what a power outage in a hospital means.
“This experience made me realize that, in a hospital, electricity supports the entire chain of care, and that its absence can change a patient’s fate in just a few minutes. Without electricity, many procedures become impossible.”
This dependence is not limited to a single department. In 2025, the Zanmi Lasante network provided 608,044 outpatient visits, performed 216,671 laboratory tests, and assisted with 16,126 deliveries, including 3,695 cesarean sections. A significant portion of these activities depends directly on a stable power supply, whether it involves operating an operating room, laboratory equipment, monitoring devices, or a refrigeration system.
Electricity supports the entire chain of care
Dr. Fridjof Schmartin Robergeau, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Bon Sauveur Hospital in Cange, points out that obstetric emergencies cannot be planned around when power will be restored. Anesthesia, monitoring, and suction machines—as well as the entire operating room—require a stable power supply.
Power outages have already occurred during surgical procedures, forcing teams to quickly adapt their care.
Dr. Jennifer Honoré, a surgeon at the same hospital, emphasizes the link between electricity and the hospital’s ability to perform surgeries.
“We perform an average of 50 surgical procedures per month when all the necessary conditions are met, including the availability of electricity, oxygen, and staff. ”
When these conditions are not met, certain procedures must be postponed. In the most critical situations, a power outage can interrupt an operation for 10 to 45 minutes. These interruptions increase the risk of complications, potentially prolong hospital stays, and place additional pressure on staff. Voltage fluctuations can also damage biomedical equipment and disrupt internal communications.
The same challenges are encountered in pharmacies and laboratories.
Pierre Noel, a pharmacist and coordinator of the TB/HIV Program, emphasizes the importance of a stable cold chain for certain medications.
“A patient may receive the correct diagnosis and prescription, but if the medication has not been stored properly, they may not achieve the expected therapeutic outcome.” ”
Elkensy François, laboratory manager at Saint-Nicolas Hospital in Saint-Marc, explains that power outages can interrupt testing, compromise the storage of samples and reagents, and expose equipment to voltage fluctuations. The resulting delays can postpone a diagnosis, a procedure, or the start of urgent treatment.
The Cost of Relying on Generators
To maintain their services despite the irregular power supply, Zanmi Lasante facilities rely heavily on generators.
In the network’s major hospitals, notably Saint-Nicolas Hospital in Saint-Marc, these generators operate virtually 24 hours a day. In other facilities, they are used for an average of at least 14 hours per day.
This intensive use results in expenses that go far beyond the cost of fuel. Preventive maintenance must be performed every 250 hours of operation, including changing the engine oil and replacing filters. Alternators, fuel injection systems, and belts also require repairs or replacement.
In the 2025–2026 fiscal year alone, Zanmi Lasante spent $207,347.81 on maintenance kits for its generators.
Reducing their operating time would therefore help address several expense categories simultaneously: fuel consumption, maintenance, and equipment wear and tear. A more stable power supply would also help better protect the biomedical devices used in the facilities.
What the Mirebalais experience suggests
The experience of the Mirebalais University Hospital provides an important benchmark for Zanmi Lasante. The facility was equipped with a solar power system backed by a large fleet of Tesla batteries, designed to provide a more stable power supply and reduce reliance on generators.
According to Dr. Ralph Blondel Charle, Director of Operations at Zanmi Lasante, the experience gained at Mirebalais shows that such a system can reduce generator fuel consumption by approximately 40% under real-world operating conditions.
If a comparable level of performance could be achieved at several large facilities within the network, fuel savings could amount to several hundred thousand U.S. dollars per year. However, this projection depends on the specific characteristics and energy needs of each facility.
Dr. Wesler Lambert, Executive Director of Zanmi Lasante, has therefore made the deployment of solar energy systems a priority for the 2026–2027 fiscal year. The goal is both to strengthen continuity of care and to better plan for long-term energy investments.
The expected benefits are ultimately measured in the day-to-day operations of the services. A reliable power supply allows a surgical team to continue an operation, a laboratory to complete an analysis, a pharmacy to maintain the conditions necessary for storing medications, and medical equipment to operate with fewer interruptions.
The challenge for Zanmi Lasante, therefore, is not merely to reduce energy costs. It is to reduce a dependency that directly affects the teams’ ability to provide care.
Investing in solar energy, when technical and financial conditions allow, is therefore an investment in infrastructure upon which patient care, patient safety, and the operation of healthcare facilities depend every day.