Field Note: Shaping a Greener Tomorrow: Solar-Powered Education and Healthcare in Iraq

Ensuring sustainable access to safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in schools and health care institutions in Iraq  presents many challenges and is likely to become even more difficult with the increasing impacts of climate change. To address these challenges, UNICEF is supporting a package of services to enable reliable access to green energy for education and health care facilities that lack a reliable source of electricity and using diesel generators. UNICEF has designed and implementing a programme in 199 schools and 4 HCFs which incorporates the risks associated with climate change and uses renewable energy to provide sustainable access to safe WASH services, provide adequate protection for girls and boys in their learning environment and healthcare facilities. This approach has also been used as part of the water scarcity mitigation actions to ensure safe water is available in the required quantities.