Philips Unveils Plan to Light Rural Areas

Hamisu Muhammad

4 July 2011

Million of Africans who live without electricity will soon have light in their homes under the Philips new solar powered lighting solutions.

The company said this on Thursday at the launch of three simple solar powered lighting solutions, which have the potentials to help improve the quality of life for families living in areas which lack electricity.

Statistics by the World Bank said about 560 million Africans live without electricity. “Using the energy of the sun to power lighting solutions can make a true difference through the three solutions. This development is part of the Philips commitment both to developing sustainable lighting solution for Africa and to its partnership with the Dutch government on the Sustainable Energy Solutions for Africa (SESA),” said Nick Kelso, Senior Communications Manager Philips Lighting Africa.

“For these people, night time means either darkness or the flickering light of a candle or kerosene lamp. However the disadvantages of kerosene lanterns are many, including safety and health risks, high cost due to the link with oil prices. And the light output of these lanterns is so low as to make visibility almost impossible,” said Tamer Abol Ghar, General Manager for Philips Lighting in East Africa.

Ghar said the three solutions include; Solar LED Torch -complete with mobile phone charger kit, solar home lighting system – complete with mobile phone charger and solar reading light -for reading and education. The new products mean an expansion of the current Philips solar lighting range which includes a range of lanterns.

Meanwhile, Royal Philips Electronics Limited won a contact to supply and install six state-of-the-art computed tomography scanners, eight Digital Mammography systems and 17 Ultrasound systems throughout the country in 2011.

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