Reliable Electricity is Helping Communities Across Somalia Access Health Services and Expand Job Opportunities

When Faiza Abdirahman Ibrahim arrived at Suuqa Xoolaha Health and Maternity Centre in Baidoa to give birth, her only concern was the safe delivery of her baby. What followed demonstrated the difference that reliable electricity can make, in a health facility.

“I was in labor for only one night. The solar electricity service helped me, as it never went off and made it easier to use the medical equipment and supplies that I desperately needed,” said Faiza Abdirahman Ibrahim. “Previously, the process was much more difficult, and we used to suffer during labor. But today, we always have reliable electricity service.”

Faiza’s experience reflects a broader change taking place across Somalia. Reliable electricity helps health facilities deliver more dependable care while supporting businesses, learning, and public services in communities that have long faced limited or unreliable power. It is also increasingly important to livelihoods, business growth, and economic recovery. Yet high costs and unreliable supply continue to constrain households and firms.

These improvements are being supported through the World Bank Group-financed Somali Electricity Sector Recovery Project (SESRP) and Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation in Somalia (ASCENT) projects, designed to expand access to cleaner and more reliable electricity, strengthen the power sector, and improve energy services for households, businesses, and public institutions. These investments also contribute to Mission 300, a World Bank Group and African Development Bank Group partnership aiming to connect 300 million people to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.

Expanding reliable energy access is also helping improve healthcare, strengthen public services, support businesses, and create opportunities for jobs and economic growth. This includes improving electricity access and services for approximately 1.1 million households, equivalent to nearly 7 million people, including 3.5 million women, and support energy services in 205 health facilities and 380 schools.

Despite progress, major challenges remain. Findings from Somalia’s Multi-Tier Framework energy access survey show that many households still receive limited hours of electricity, while affordability remains a significant concern. Nearly 70 percent of households spend at least 5 percent of their total expenditure on electricity. The survey is helping inform energy-sector planning, investment priorities, and reforms aimed at expanding access and lowering costs.

Connecting Communities to Opportunities and Healthcare

For businesses, more reliable and affordable power can support longer operating hours, lower production costs, better services, and opportunities to expand and create jobs. In the health sector, it is helping facilities operate medical equipment, support emergency services, preserve vaccine cold chains, and provide safer maternal healthcare.

The testimonies from Baidoa and Jubaland tell a shared story of how electricity is changing access to care. In Jubaland, Fadumo Ali Mohamed recalled that families once arrived at Istanbul Hospital with loved ones but sometimes had to wait until daylight for care. “But now, we have electricity and, together with the wider community, benefit from hospital service day and night,” she said.

At Goobweyn District Hospital, Cadar Abdulqadir Salad described the risks faced during deliveries when torches could fail. “The light is now installed above your head, allowing you to switch it on whenever you need,” Cadar said, adding that staff can better see and access the equipment and supplies required during childbirth.

Similar benefits are being felt elsewhere. In Balcad District, community elder Ali Barsaji Huud said reliable electricity has strengthened services at the district hospital: “Today, because we have electricity, Balcad District Hospital has reached a level where even someone who needs surgery can be operated on at Balcad District Hospital without being taken elsewhere.”

Beyond expanded services, electricity is helping facilities offer a more comfortable and dignified experience for patients. Air conditioning has improved working conditions for health staff and patient comfort, particularly during periods of extreme heat.

Across Somalia, reliable electricity is doing far more than keeping the lights on. From maternity wards and district hospitals to businesses and public services, it is helping improve healthcare, support livelihoods, and expand opportunities for work. The testimonies of Faiza, Fadumo, Cadar, and Ali show what this change means in people’s daily lives: care available when it is needed, safer working conditions, and stronger services closer to home.