Mozambique

Sustainable energy in Mozambique

Local sustainable energy centre in Maringue.

Partner:

ADEL Sofala
+258 23 36 21 42
.mz

ADEL is one of the most prominent organisations in a rather week NGO community in Sofala. The organisation was established in order to develop projects that address absolute poverty through access to economic opportunities for the poorest and most disadvantages members of the society. Clean energy is a key issue for ADEL. The organisation was funded by a number of organisations that represent rural and urban women (AMAI APA BANDA, MULEIDE, Forum da mulher de sofala), landless families (ORAM), poor rural farmers (Limane, UDAC), and organisations from the micro credit/credit sector, private sector and academia.

Background:
Mozambique is one of the world’s poorest countries. Almost 75% of the 19 million inhabitants live on less than US$ 2 per day and Mozambique is ranked 172 out of 177 countries on UNDP’s Human Development Index. More than 95% of the population in Mozambique does not have access to electricity. In rural areas it is almost non-existent. This restricts education and productive activities to daylight hours haltering local development. This also perpetuates poor conditions in health care facilities. Energy for the refrigeration in clinics, hospitals, and vaccination campaigns is a crucial requirement for improving health and reducing death rates. Without electricity, Mozambique’s poor communities lack possibilities to increase income or improve living conditions, and are ultimately kept in poverty.

The demand for energy is a ‘derived demand’-- no one wants energy in itself, but rather for the services it can provide. The wide range of energy services (cooking, water heating, lighting, refrigeration, water pumping, transport, communication, etc.) made possible by fuels and fuel technology, can have a major impact on facilitating sustainable livelihood, improving health and education, and significantly reducing poverty. The absence of these energy services, on the other hand, can be a severe constraint to sustainable economic and human development.