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Private Sector Joins Clean Energy Drive for Africa's Refugees 

By Lisa Bryant. December 19, 2019 08:24 PM


A miniature solar energy panel at the Refugee Forum in Geneva. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)

GENEVA - In northern Ethiopia, tens of thousands of mostly Eritrean refugees are getting connected to families back home, partly thanks to last year's peace deal between Addis Ababa and Asmara, but also to clean energy....

Read more: https://www.voanews.com/africa/private- ... s-refugees

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...A Spanish alliance that includes three power companies is linking refugee camps in Shire, near the border with Eritrea, to the country's energy grid, which largely relies on hydropower. The next step is equipping refugee households with solar energy. 

Private Sector Joins Clean Energy Drive for Africa's Refugees

"It's a catalyst," said Javier Mazorra, partnership coordinator for the group, Alianza Shire. "You need energy for health, you need energy for education, you need energy for protection, especially for women." 
 
Humanitarians hope what is happening in Shire will someday become the new normal, amounting to a game changer for refugees, 90% of whom have limited access to electricity, according to the United Nations. Indeed, energy access counted among key issues addressed this week at a global refugee forum in Geneva, with Africa considered a top priority. ...

Continue... https://www.voanews.com/africa/private- ... s-refugees