Resilient Power Keeps Rural Health Clinics Running in the Philippines

When storms knock out electricity, health workers still need to care for their communities. In the Philippines, Direct Relief's Power for Health initiative is helping rural health facilities maintain essential care services with solar power and battery storage.

Working with Health Futures Foundation, Inc., or HFI, since 2014, Direct Relief has funded 17 projects and has worked with the Philippines' Wadah Foundation on one project. 17 systems are at barangay health stations, which are community clinics providing primary care, and one is at a birthing center in Palawan. Thirteen projects are complete, with five underway.

The Philippines again ranked highest for disaster risk in the 2026 WorldRiskIndex, reflecting both its exposure to hazards such as typhoons, earthquakes, and floods and its vulnerability to their effects.

At the Moriones Barangay Health Station in San Jose, Tarlac, health worker Alona Morales said the installation makes caring for patients at night safer. "We are also not worried when there is a power interruption," she said. The health center cares for 4,000 community members.

Before solar power, health stations sometimes could not operate or "would end up closing early due to the lack of power," said Michelle Fortea, HFI's officer-in-charge and deputy director. Following installation, the stations have remained operational during outages and served as "evacuation centers catering to those in need in the communities during calamities."

Local health workers and residents also receive training to operate and maintain the equipment, helping communities sustain the systems over time.

Support from Principal Financial Group, Elevance Health, and Health Carousel Foundation has helped make this work possible, strengthening access to reliable electricity and the health care that requires it.