COVID-19 Innovations – COVID-19 | SELCO Foundation

Solar Powered Quarantine Centres in Ukhrul, Manipur | COVID-19 Innovation

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 15:17:39 +0000

Context

With rapid increase in the cases of COVID19 infected persons in India, while in March/April the disease’s spread was limited to the main cities, the virus has now increasingly started reaching the remote parts of the country. This has resulted in straining the health infrastructure, a key concern being the more under- developed and under-resourced states, such as the north eastern states of India. State governments have been drawing up plans to fight the spread of the disease by taking preventive steps and also identifying the places where the potential affected patients can be quarantined to ensure that the transmission chain is broken.

One such district is the Ukhrul District. Ukhrul district has one District Hospital and 8 PHCs spread across the district evenly present catering to the needs of the existing populations of around 1.83 lakhs. The district has already seen a return of about 500 migrants and is expecting another 7000+ according to local administration. In anticipation, district administrations and civil society organizations are preparing the state by upgrading Primary Healthcare Centres for quarantine and screening. But the existing infrastructure has been found to be insufficient to house all of the anticipated returning migrants. Thus, more quarantine centers are needed for which educational institutions and other public institutions are being identified to be temporarily converted into the quarantine centres

Intervention

Quarantine is the separation and restriction of movement or activities of persons who are not ill but who are believed to have been exposed to infection, for the purpose of preventing transmission of diseases. Persons are usually quarantined in their homes, but they may also be quarantined in community-based facilities. The quarantine can be applied to an individual or to a group of persons who are exposed at a large public gathering or to persons believed exposed on a conveyance as per guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

In addition to that each of the quarantine center has to have minimum facilities in terms of housing the medical staff, for housing the medical equipment i.e. Thermal thermometer, Stethoscope, BP machine etc. In Manipur, the administration has also been keen to ensure that all quarantine facilities have basic amenities such as reliable and constant electricity and water supply- ensuring the comfort of the quarantined individuals and medical staff. This is to also ensure that the quarantined individuals are not tempted to escape from the facility and go to their homes, putting their family members at risk. Absence of reliable power can also severely hamper the smooth operations and delivery of care services in such facilities.

As already stated, estimates show that the existing health infrastructure in the Ukhrul district might not be able to cope up with the anticipated influx of residents who need to undergo mandatory quarantine and at same time cater to the other medical needs of the population. After careful assessment of such identified facilities, a comprehensive plan has been suggested to the District Administration. Facilities with unreliable access to electricity have been mapped, and the list has been present to the District Administration for installation of Solar Energy Systems for Lighting and Mobile Charging.

IMPACT

Rapid upgradation of public infrastructure important to improve the quarantine facilities. As stranded migrants reach home- travelling in manners in which social distancing norms might have been compromised, they might be carriers of virus to remote villages. Before they reach their villages and families, it is important that the state and district administrations provide them with well equipped facilities where they can rest and also save their families from being exposed to the virus through them. A stipulated period of 14 days is required for quarantine.
Civil Society Organisations, together with District Administrations can play a key role in rapid assessments of facilities and upgradation that is required to convert them for quarantine.

Solar Powered Walk-in Sample Kiosk in Kundapura, Karnataka | Covid-19 Innovation

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 14:55:10 +0000

Context

India has seen a rapid increase in the cases of COVID-19 infected persons, reporting almost 90,000 confirmed cases on 16th May 2020. Each state in the country has been responding depending on its context. Some states have had success in flattening the curve and see the cases in decline with every passing day, whereas in others there has been no signs of slowing down. Testing, contact tracing and quarantine have proved as important measures across the globe. Since the past few weeks, India has been increasing its testing capacities. Walk-in sample Kiosks (WISK) are being scaled rapidly and deployed in wide variety of settings across the different states. These are being set up primarily in easy to access public spaces. With scarce resources, India has found it important to have portable and mobile sample collection units- allowing for one infrastructure to serve multiple neighbourhoods or geographies.

Sample collection requires has to be done carefully, and the healthcare worker needs to be in a PPE suit, ensuring that he/she is protected from the risk of contracting the virus. With peak summer approaching India, it has been found important that the healthcare workers are provided with a comfortable working environment- making energy an important component of that for light and fan. With the kiosk being mobile, it is also important that the energy source is made mobile- allowing the healthcare worker to be comfortable wherever the WISK is operating from.

Intervention

Udupi town is about 90km from the Mangalore International Airport. With the airport recently opened with limited flights, the Udupi district has been improving its testing infrastructure since many Indians from other countries will be coming back to their home towns in the coming weeks. In addition to having testing done in labs or COVID designated hospitals, the health department in Udupi also commissioned Solar Powered Mobile Sample Collection Units. The initiative improved the outreach of the testing facility, but still had its limitations. Udupi district cater to a population of 11.77 lakh people and have health infrastructure comprising of around 24 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC). A single mobile unit was not able to serve the need across the different villages and PHCs. In terms of testing, the mobile unit was able to collect only 60 to 70 Samples per day.

The health department in the district has been determined towards aggressively improving its testing capacity which needed necessary testing units in more PHCs and public spaces. That lead to idea of a portable and cost-effective WISK, a WISK which was Solar Powered with one Fan, Light and a Mobile charging unit. It is designed as a small cabin that is closed from four sides with one side having a glass wall with an opening. The person being tested is seated outside the glass wall through which two rubber gloves are attached outside. The health worker has to insert a hand in the rubber gloves and collect swab samples and blood samples from the patients. The rubber gloves and the cabin is disinfected after each sample collection.

IMPACT

Aided in Carrying out Mass Testing: WISK was a more affordable and easier way to collect samples, as it takes no more than just two minutes to collect samples, and requires minimum investment in the infrastructure that provides a safe mode of sample collection.
Ensured Safety of Frontline Health Caregivers: With increasing cases being reported across the country – it’s a tool in the hands of the frontline medical staff who can undertake mass testing whereby their personal safety and well-being is ensured through the equipped booths.
Cost of Infrastructure: The Kiosk costed INR 24000/- for set up (including the cost of the solar energy system for light, fan and mobile charging). In comparison, the cost of other solutions ranges from INR 35,000 to INR 90,000- these are not portable and without solar powering, which makes the WISK implemented in Udupi a unique, portable and cost-effective model
Savings on PPE Suits: The health facility also has potentially saved on the use of the PPE suits which are not only cumbersome but also cost cost INR 1000-1400 apiece. According to Dr. Nagbhushan at the Health Department, a comparison between the cost of PPE suits and the WISK kiosk, shows that WISK is a far more efficient use of resources- ensuring savings for the health department within a week of operations of the WISK.

Solar Powered Decentralised Rice Milling Unit in Jharkhand | Stories of Resilience

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 04:38:58 +0000

Context

Life Education and Development Support (LEADS) is an organization that works in the districts of Jharkhand, primarily in Khunti, Hazaribagh, Laterhar, Ghumla (amongst others) to promote sustainable livelihood solutions in rural and tribal communities. They also work in urban areas with their base located in Ranchi. Within the livelihoods work, they focus on agriculture and natural resource promotion, animal husbandry for sustainable livelihoods and more. They have members grouped in Self Help Groups across the districts, some of which are driven by women participation and leadership.

In Latehar and Ghumla districts alone, they have 1,600 members who practice rice cultivation. These farmers live in very remote forested regions and predominantly belong to tribal communities.

The Intervention

Kurokala village in Mahuadan Block, Latehar district is a remote village with Santhal communities residing there. They are all small and marginal farmers who grow rice for one season and practice horticulture farming as well. The farmers primarily grow a special variety, Black Jeera Rice along with some other varieties of rice which they consume and sell. 300 households cultivate paddy in this cluster of Mahuadan block with each household producing about 15-20 bags of paddy (10 quintals) per season. They keep enough paddy aside for self consumption and sell the rest.

Kisan Mahila Mandal is a women based SHG with 20 members who decided to take up the decentralized solar powered rice mill intervention as they observed the need for hulling of rice and polishing there. The nearest rice mill was in a town, about 10 kms away- large in scale, it was primarily catering to large farmers, bringing in paddy in larger quantities to be hulled. A small building infrastructure was set up with the help of the Jharkhand Livelihood Mission and the solar powered rice processing machines was installed in May, 2019. Multiple training sessions were conducted by SELCO Foundation staff for the women members. The women operate the machines, handle packaging, accounts, registers, maintenance etc.

The huller and polisher are two separate components with the huller processing 60 kgs per hour and the polisher cleaning 50 kgs per hour. With the machines running for 6 hours, they can mill 3 quintals of produce per day.

The decentralized mill is being run as a service model where they sell their produce through 4 middlemen who they have developed linkages with. Due to not having their own transportation, they sell to the middle men who come regularly and pick up the milled produce as well as paddy from the farmers. The middle men take the produce to markets in nearby towns like Daltonganj.

COVID-19

The lockdown has severe repercussions in Latehar district, with many establishments having to close down. This includes the oil mill, flour mill and the rice mill which people from the town and villages nearby would access. With this access being cut off, villagers from nearby villages of 5-6 kilometer radius started to come to the SHG run solar powered mill as they heard of it from the middlemen. The SHG started to mill and polish the produce charging town folks INR 5 per kg and their associated Farmer Producer Organization members INR 2 per kg, as opposed to the usual rate of INR 3 per kg. The mill has been running for an additional 3 hours per day milling 150 kgs of paddy to rice per day.

Due to this, the SHG has been making profits even during the lockdown. People accessing this mill have been expressing that they prefer this as they have reduced time and expenses as the centralized mill in town would charge them INR 2 per kg but would not return the husk. Whereas, the SHG members have been returning the husk to the customers along with their hulled rice. The husk has many uses for the farmers in the form of mixing it with manure to make bio fuel, using it as fuel to keep the pots going which they use to make alcohol and laying poultry farms with this base to revoke ammonia. This husk is usually sold for INR 50-70 per bag for fuel used to make alcohol and INR 30-40 for the poultry shed with each bag weighing 20 kgs. The decentralized rice mill generates 60% rice and 40% husk of the paddy being fed. The solar powering has been very useful during the lockdown as the region suffers heavy load shedding and frequent power cuts. If diesel were to be used as a backup fuel, they would take 2 days to procure diesel during the time of lockdown which would have hampered their service and production.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Income and profit: Even during the lockdown, due to the unit being located in a remote region, the SHG members remained unaffected and were allowed to operate through it. This brought in more customers, increasing their income and turning in profits.
Additional customer base: Due to the mills in the town being shut down as a result of the lockdown, people from nearby villages and towns started to use this service to mill their produce. At least 100 people newly accessing this mill have expressed to the SHG members that they will only come to their centre henceforth even post lockdown as it is more economical, convenient and time saving.
Food security: Farmers and communities from nearby villages and from Kurokala have been able to process their stored paddy to rice which is giving them food security in a time where access to essentials has been difficult.
Awareness on solar: A lot of the visiting communities are seeing solar energy for the first time and have learnt of its existence, uses and applications beyond just lighting.
Combatting energy issues: The remote region suffers a lot of power cuts, frequent load shedding and voltage dips which would have required the SHG to rely on diesel, if it weren’t for solar. It takes 2 days to procure a batch of diesel and in the time of lockdown, it would have taken longer with additional permissions required to be able to access it, causing hindrances in their service.

Sustainable Energy and Climate Infrastructure for Basic Therapeutic Care Units

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 04:04:35 +0000

The COVID-19 crisis has alarmingly brought to front the unpreparedness of the humanity to deal with such a crisis. It also lay to bare the glaring gaps in the health supply chains across the world. Previously, the gaps were main focused on the cost of delivering health services and its inaccessibility to the poorer populations across the world.

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Collapsible Walk-in Sample Collection Kiosk | COVID-19

admin — Thu, 28 May 2020 07:29:02 +0000

To minimize the consumption and disposal of the already scarce protective wears in the testing for Covid-19, we followed up on of the most effective design strategy presently available; to create a low footprint, contained kiosk-like barrier between the health-worker and the patient being tested. In addition to the existing framework, we designed them to be operable off-grid with solar panels. However these kiosk-esque testing cabins are more or less stationery spaces as they are heavy and difficult to carry around. This is less than ideal for remote and rural areas where health-workers need higher mobility of these testing kiosks.

Design Brief

To design a contained testing unit for coronavirus check ups that are portable and easy to set up. Requirement and feedback from the doctors at Ashwini Tribal Hospital. A solution for remote villages and tribal locations.

A SELCO FOUNDATION INITIATIVE FOR HEALTH CARE DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Solar UV Disinfection Solutions | COVID-19 Innovations

admin — Fri, 22 May 2020 10:32:59 +0000

Solar UV Disinfection Technologies for Space Disinfection
Solar UV Disinfection Technologies for Masks, PPEs other objects
Disinfection technologies for automobiles/ vehicles

Preview

Solar-Powered Quarantine Centres | COVID-19 Innovations

admin — Fri, 22 May 2020 08:53:22 +0000

With rapid increase in the cases of COVID19 infected persons in India, while in March/April the disease’s spread was limited to the main cities, the virus has now increasingly started reaching the remote parts of the country. This has resulted in straining the health infrastructure, a key concern being the more under-developed and under-resourced states, such as the north eastern states of India. State governments have been drawing up plans to fight the spread of the disease by taking preventive steps and also identifying the places where the potential affected patients can be quarantined to ensure that the transmission chain is broken.

In the state of Manipur, the number of cases detected as of 15th May 2020 was only 3, but with the migrants coming back home from other states this number is bound to increase. By 17th May, 4 new cases were detected, all amidst the return of the people who were stranded in other states so far. One such district is the Ukhrul District. Ukhrul district has one District Hospital and 8 PHCs spread across the district evenly present catering to the needs of the existing populations of around 1.83 lakhs.

The district has already seen a return of about 500 migrants and is expecting another 7000+ according to local administration. In anticipation, district administrations and civil society organizations are preparing the state by upgrading Primary Healthcare Centres for quarantine and screening. But the existing infrastructure has been found to be insufficient to house all of the anticipated returning migrants. Thus, more quarantine centers are needed for which educational institutions and other public institutions are being identified to be temporarily converted into the quarantine centres.

Intervention

Key Takeaways

Rapid upgradation of public infrastructure important to improve the quarantine facilities. As stranded migrants reach home- traveling in manners in which social distancing norms might have been compromised, they might be carriers of virus to remote villages. Before they reach their villages and families, it is important that the state and district administrations provide them with well equipped facilities where they can rest and also save their families from being exposed to the virus through them. A stipulated period of 14 days is required for quarantine.

Civil Society Organisations, together with District Administrations can play a key role in rapid assessments of facilities and upgradation that is required to convert them for quarantine.

Solar Powered Walk-in Sample Kiosk | COVID-19 Innovations

admin — Fri, 22 May 2020 08:43:30 +0000

Intervention

Solar Powered Walk-in Sample Kiosk (WISK). A project developed jointly by Bhartiya Vikas Trust, SELCO India and Dr Nagbhushan Udupa from District Health Department.

Impact

Aided in Carrying out Mass Testing: WISK was a more affordable and easier way to collect samples, as it takes no more than just two minutes to collect samples, and requires minimum investment in the infrastructure that provides a safe mode of sample collection.

Ensured Safety of Frontline Health Caregivers: With increasing cases being reported across the country – it’s a tool in the hands of the frontline medical staff who can undertake mass testing whereby their personal safety and well-being is ensured through the equipped booths.

Cost of Infrastructure: The Kiosk costed INR 24000/- for set up (including the cost of the solar energy system for light, fan and mobile charging). In comparison, the cost of other solutions ranges from INR 35,000 to INR 90,000- these are not portable and without solar powering, which makes the WISK implemented in Udupi a unique, portable and cost-effective model.

Savings on PPE Suits: The health facility also has potentially saved on the use of the PPE suits which are not only cumbersome but also cost cost INR 1000-1400 apiece. According to Dr. Nagbhushan at the Health Department, a comparison between the cost of PPE suits and the WISK kiosk, shows that WISK is a far more efficient use of resources- ensuring savings for the health department within a week of operations of the WISK.

Oxygen Concentrators | Setting Up Medical Facilities in Low Resource Areas

admin — Thu, 21 May 2020 10:39:29 +0000

The ability to boost capacity to deliver oxygen therapy is the cornerstone of the overall approach to managing the COVID- 19 outbreak and it has implications for the functioning of the entiresystem. The principles, set out here, of building surge capacity should be integrated into a health system’s readiness and response capacities for all functions – either centrally, or at facility level.

Oxygen supply and delivery systems are limited in many resource-limited settings. Each supply option needs to be examined with attention to access and distribution.

The document showcases the need to account for energy efficiency and improved consumption when planning for oxygen requirements at a facility. It also showcases technical design for solar energy systems to ensure availability of reliable
and sustainable energy at the health facility.

Previous slide

Next slide

Mobile COVID19 Testing Vans

admin — Mon, 18 May 2020 11:38:10 +0000

SELCO India has been working in the Udupi District for more than 20 years. The district now has three SELCO India branches – Udupi, Karkala and Kundapura, which has been an indicator of the growth of customers in the district. They have been providing solutions for home lighting, digital education, productive applications; all throughout working with public institutions, government bodies, and civil society organisations. The first completely solar powered village in India, Amasbail was implemented by the SELCO India team in Udupi.

COVID-19

The region faced a complete lockdown with all borders being sealed off on 23rd of March i.e. the first phase of national lockdown. The region sees a lot of tourists to visit temples, migrant workers from across Karnataka and other states seeking work. The lockdown has been relaxed since the 3rd of May i.e. the third phase of lockdown as the district went from three cases detected to zero cases and being in the green zone. The district is expecting 8000 people leaving the district, migrant labourers returning to their homes as well as people coming back to the district from other countries. Mangalore International Airport is about 95 kms, making Udupi a destination for many of the immigrants returning back. Given this situation, strict protocols need to be followed with regular and increased testing for COVID-19 -both targeted and random as stipulated by the Health Department. The district administration has started the initiative of mobile testing vans for conducting random tests along with kiosks at check posts and any entry points.

Intervention

The Mobile COVID19 Swab Collection vans have two people at every given point with some more people joining in at panchayats. They have a target of testing a minimum of 100 people daily in the targeted regions. The staff have to be completely sealed inside the vehicle and cannot roll down their windows for ventilation, as it can be hazardous. With the summer season at its peak, this task is very difficult for the health staff working in the van with it being parked under sunlight for hours.

Bharatiya Vikas Trust (BVT), a long-time partner of SELCO has been working with the district administration on COVID relief activities, providing masks to frontline workers. They have made over 10,000 masks in 30 days and distributed it across different panchayats. The health department approached SELCO through BVT to solar power the loads in the vehicle. The request was raised 10 days prior to the installation and with agreements and financing worked out.

Two fans, one light (75 W module), a mobile charging unit, a 30 Ah battery and one 10 Amp charge regulator were designed to be installed in the van. The battery was small sized as it is a daytime load with the van only running till the afternoon.

Post COVID, the vans will be used for other purposes as they belong to the health department and the solar system will be moved to a Sub Centre or a Primary Health Centre.

Key Takeaways

Increased comfort and well-being for the frontline workers as they were working with no ventilation before the installation of the solar energy system. The temperatures in Kundapura near 40 degrees Celsius in April/May.

This intervention will be followed by powering of 2 more testing vans, border police check posts, and primary health centres in the district.

SELCO Solar Pvt Ltd had worked with the health department previously, powering about 20 sub centres in the district. The trust built over the years on the quality of solar energy service in the region resulted in the district administration and SELCO’s partner Bhartiya Vikas Trust reaching out to SELCO with the need for powering the van.

COVID-19 Innovations – COVID-19 | SELCO Foundation

Solar Powered Quarantine Centres in Ukhrul, Manipur | COVID-19 Innovation

Context

Intervention

IMPACT

Solar Powered Walk-in Sample Kiosk in Kundapura, Karnataka | Covid-19 Innovation

Context

Intervention

IMPACT

Solar Powered Decentralised Rice Milling Unit in Jharkhand | Stories of Resilience

Context

The Intervention

COVID-19

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Sustainable Energy and Climate Infrastructure for Basic Therapeutic Care Units

Document Preview

Collapsible Walk-in Sample Collection Kiosk | COVID-19

Design Brief

A SELCO FOUNDATION INITIATIVE FOR HEALTH CARE DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Solar UV Disinfection Solutions | COVID-19 Innovations

Table of Contents

Preview

Solar-Powered Quarantine Centres | COVID-19 Innovations

Intervention

Key Takeaways

Solar Powered Walk-in Sample Kiosk | COVID-19 Innovations

Intervention

Solar Powered Walk-in Sample Kiosk (WISK). A project developed jointly by Bhartiya Vikas Trust, SELCO India and Dr Nagbhushan Udupa from District Health Department.

Impact

Oxygen Concentrators | Setting Up Medical Facilities in Low Resource Areas

Mobile COVID19 Testing Vans

Intervention

Key Takeaways