SolarFi Telehealth Mobile Clinics
All countries have faced one major dilemma: whether to sacrifice economic well-being to protect as many people from the virus as possible, nor to forego public health measures to conserve the country's economic status. Our solution tackles the current response to COVID-19, as well as other widespread diseases. SolarFi Cares Mobile Clinics will focus on primary preventive care equipped with health supplies for COVID-19 and other diseases, while harnessing telemedicine for advanced clinical support in rural areas where this is not currently accessible.
Off-grid mobile clinics are increasingly playing an important role in maximizing reach remote communities while lowering cost barriers of healthcare access.
Underserved areas such as Nigeria co-exist with industrial urban centres in different parts of Africa for various reasons. Some of the underlying causes include economic disparity and pervasive poverty, which have led to rapid rural-to-urban migration, economic stagnation and depression, high unemployment rates, a struggling economy, forced or manipulated ghettozation, poor urban planning, politics, natural disasters and social conflicts.
Power is needed for social (e.g., being connecting to family, friends and the world) and economic (e.g., being well educated and capable of creating jobs, improving businesses such as agriculture) development. However, over 600 million people in Africa lack access to electricity (according to the Word Bank database). Access to electricity is problematic in sub-Saharan Africa and especially in the rural areas in sub-Saharan Africa.
Whether it be a global pandemic like COVID-19 or a local outbreak of another disease, technology plays a vital role in helping to spread access to information about disease prevention and health care advice. We believe that mobile clinics with telecoms would be particularly helpful in aiding support to these remote communities.
SolarFi is a portable, solar-powered, multi-functional phone charging kiosk. The product is innovative and unique: addressing 11 of the 17 UN sustainable development goals developed in 2015 to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. Further, it directly addresses the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) global initiative, implemented to achieve universal energy access and energy efficiency. An informal solar charging station was test launched in 2015 by Abdul Sannoh of UNDP Sierra Leone with two kiosks being placed in the country. The charging station was an instant success, creating a huge following. However, two kiosks were insufficient: long lines were formed, and, consequently, people were forced to leave their phones to charge for more than eight hours. This doubled the transportation cost of its clients. Also, no locking mechanisms were available for the phones. With sufficient funding, more kiosks could be implemented and security mechanisms added. Mr. Sannoh suggests that seventeen SolarFi charging systems could be placed in three districts to meet the needs of the beneficiaries. SMART clinic uses access to mobile phones, and the internet to draw people to the clinic. By luring them to the clinic to do their homework, and to charge their phones they are more inclined to see a doctor for preventative care.
SolarFi will help people at the BOP (bottom of the pyramid). It is capable of charging 40-60 mobile phones simultaneously and can provide Wi-Fi for up to 80 users. It is designed for “off-grid” locations, offering immediate resolution to isolated communities, who can be expected to benefit from the Kiosk’s services 24/7. In addition to these services, SolarFi will provide access to free, potentially life-changing healthcare information provided by USAID and UNICEF, including HIV prevention. SolarFi kiosks would strategically be placed in front of rural hospitals and clinics for convenience. Mondays will be Medical Monday’s, Tuesday Tech days teaching kids Microsoft word, and how to code, Wednesday’s best practices in agriculture, farming is the backbone of an African country.
Furthermore, SolarFi will partner with the necessary aid organizations to ensure that citizens have access to language-learning classes, encouraging professional development and education. Furthermore, it will offer a free messaging service, similar to WhatsApp. The cost to use the kiosk is low. The average user is expected to save up to 33% of their income by using SolarFi thus encouraging them to be around the proper healthcare environments.
- Development Objective(s):
- To tackle energy poverty in: Sierra Leone via the installation of sustainable and portable solar-powered phone charging kiosks.
- To bring communities together, whilst economically empowering citizens and giving businesses the opportunity to flourish.
- To improve the health of citizens, by ensuring that SolarFi users can gain access to healthcare such as vaccinations.
- To empower citizens through access to knowledge such as hand washing, HIV prevention, polio, and other health-related issues.
- To actively address:
- The Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) global initiative, established in 2010.
- The UN sustainable development goals established in 2015.
- Plan of Action
- Phase 1: Widespread Implementation of SolarFi Kiosks
- Phase 2: Partnership between SolarFi and Health Organizations (Vaccination Promotion)
Our solution aims to serve underserved communities in different countries around the world. This could be the community of Sierra Leone, Kenya, Nigeria or other underprivileged, poor communities in the United States that lack access to steady internet or job opportunities.
- Provide low-income, remote, and refugee communities access to digital infrastructure and safe, affordable internet.
At SolarFi, we are dedicated to helping women and minorities recognize that, often, the reasons that some communities are underpriviledged are very complex in nature. Therefore, we believe that our SolarFi pods are versatile enough to meet these complex issues. Our pods can be adapted to meet several different issues that exist in underserved communities, be it lack of educational resources or access to proper health services. The built in telecoms will make such resources available.
- Pilot: An organization deploying a tested product, service, or business model in at least one community.
We have built over 50 SolarFi pods. We are testing in Sierra Leone, Ghana, and the USA. Additionally, we are considering plausible locations in which establishing a set of mobile clinics would be most beneficial for meeting the project's goals.

President