Ambassador Stephanie Sullivan’s As Prepared Remarks at the PEG Ghana Limited Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Dawia Community Health-based Planning Services in the Ashanti Region, Ghana
Friday, April 23, 2021; 11:00am
Sekyere Afram Plains District Community-based Health Planning Services (CHPS) Director Felix Delle
Member of Parliament for the Sekyere Afram Plains District Alex Adomako Mensah
Dawia Chief Nana Ibrahim Mahama
Staff and Personnel of Ghana Health Services
PEG Ghana staff;
Members of the media;
Ladies and gentlemen;
All protocols observed.
Good morning. I’m pleased to join today’s commissioning for the Dawia Community-based Health Planning Services (CHPS) compound’s newly installed solar energy system. This new system is designed to provide reliable and sustainable energy for rural health facilities and make quality healthcare services available to everyone. Through Power Africa, the U.S. Government remains a strategic partner with the Government of Ghana to advance Ghana’s development and economic growth.
The Power Africa Off-Grid Program is helping private energy services firms, like PEG Solar Ghana, connect with rural health posts to help finance clean, reliable solar energy. Scaling up the use of renewable energy is necessary to improve the delivery of quality services, particularly in achieving Ghana’s universal healthcare goals.
I’d like to recognize the innovative work that PEG Solar Ghana and Ghana Health Service (GHS) is doing to bring renewable energy to health centers. The GHS continues to be a great partner. We also look forward to the day when this technology can be installed in other health centers and facilities that provide other government services throughout Ghana, not only in the 55 rural healthcare facilities in the Ashanti Region participating in this pilot program.
In communities like Dawia, stable energy can be a literal lifeline, allowing mothers to receive high-quality healthcare services 24/7 and preserving the integrity of the cold chain for vaccine storage. It’s expected that more than 7,300 Ghanaians will benefit from the extended services. We wish PEG Solar Ghana and GHS all the best in their endeavor to harness the sun’s light to bring energy to the doorstep of communities that the national grid has not reached, keeping people safe in the process.
Today’s event is coming at an auspicious time, as we celebrated Earth Day yesterday. It signifies a unique way to recognize Asaase Yaa whom we call Mother Earth, by deploying green energy to meet our needs and protect the environment.
Earth Day reminds us not only of the generous bounty that Asaase Yaa provides but also of ways to honor and protect her for future generations. After all, we have not inherited the earth from our fathers. We have borrowed it from our children.
In conclusion, I commend the Government of Ghana through GHS and PEG Solar Ghana for their partnership to provide and deliver clean energy and quality healthcare to Ghanaians through this initiative. PEG’s mission is to improve the lives of millions of people in West Africa, and I believe this partnership truly embodies that goal. I’m proud to say that the U.S. government is working hand-in-hand with private sector partners like PEG Solar Ghana and the Government of Ghana to support Ghana’s sustainable development and advance the United States’ goal to promote economic growth, energy security, and a healthy planet.
Medaase.
