In this Sahelian region exposed to heat waves, flooding, and food insecurity, ensuring continuity of health care is a daily challenge. It’s in this context that ALIMA, its national partner Alerte Santé, and the Climate Action Accelerator (CAA) launched a pilot project to transform Ngouri District Hospital into a “resilient hospital.” The goal is to make the hospital more self-sufficient, safer, and less carbon-intensive, while delivering tangible improvements in the quality of care.
Heat, Flooding, and Epidemics: In Chad, Climate Change Is Putting Health Care Under Pressure
Chad is among the countries most exposed to the impacts of climate change. Prolonged droughts, extreme rainfall, population displacement, and rising temperatures are worsening food insecurity and contributing to the spread of diseases such as malaria.
In Ngouri, 146 miles (235 kilometers) north of N’Djamena, these climate shocks are increasing health care needs in an already fragile health system.
Maintaining the cold chain needed to store vaccines, ensuring safe births at night, or treating severe cases of malnutrition all become harder when electricity is unreliable, temperatures rise, and water becomes scarce.
“The instability of the power supply puts constant pressure on our teams. When generators broke down or fuel ran out, we had no way to provide oxygen to patients who urgently needed it.”
A White Roof, Solar Panels, and a Blood Bank: Concrete Solutions to Improve Care
The “resilient hospital” project includes 25 solutions addressing infrastructure, energy, water, waste management, working conditions, and care organization. All share the same goal: keeping the hospital running during crises while reducing its environmental footprint.
Since the project launched in 2022, 13 solutions have already been implemented, and their effects are visible every day:
- The hospital roof was repainted with reflective white paint. This has lowered indoor temperatures by around 9°F (5°C). Patients can now receive care in better conditions, while staff work in a less physically demanding environment.
- Solar panels now power the hospital. They reduce dependence on diesel and lower the risk of power outages, particularly during nighttime births. They also make the cold chain needed for vaccine storage more reliable.
- A solar-powered blood bank and oxygen concentrators have also been installed. This equipment strengthens the hospital’s ability to treat the most severe cases on-site, including severe malaria, malnutrition, and epidemics, without systematically having to wait for a transfer to another facility.
More solutions are still to come. A disaster management committee and an early warning system, for example, will help the hospital better anticipate future crises.
A new multipurpose building is also planned. Built partly from recycled materials and using low-carbon traditional techniques, it will be designed to stay naturally cool and will be able to accommodate patients during periods of high demand.
“Thanks to these solutions, the Ngouri Hospital is more self-sufficient, safer, and more environmentally friendly. This directly improves the quality of care.”
Dr. Sékou, the project coordinator.
Beyond Ngouri: A Model for Other Hospitals Across the Sahel
For both patients and health care workers, the early benefits are already visible: a more reliable power supply, better conditions for patients and staff, and a strengthened ability to handle emergencies and surges in activity.
But the project’s ambition goes beyond Ngouri. Each solution is being assessed according to its cost, its impact on the quality and continuity of care, and the greenhouse gas emissions it helps avoid.
This data will help identify the most effective solutions and develop a model that can be replicated and adapted to other hospitals across the Sahel and in other resource-limited regions.
The experience in Ngouri shows that, even in a fragile environment, it is possible to transform a health facility through practical, measurable solutions.
By combining infrastructure improvements, skill development, and a lower carbon footprint, ALIMA and its partners are helping build health systems that are more sustainable and better prepared for the effects of climate change.
As climate shocks intensify, strengthening hospitals’ ability to continue operating directly contributes to saving lives.
The Ngouri resilient hospital project is carried out with support from the AXA and Sanofi foundations, as well as CFAO Motors.
Cover photo: © Freddy MALO/ALIMA
