THE Scottish Government will fund solar energy installations for 15 children’s operating theatres in Africa, Humza Yousaf has announced.
Through its International Development Fund, the Scottish Government will provide almost £325,000 for Kids Operating Room (OR) to provide power to the facilities in Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda.
The First Minister announced the move at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday.
A further £250,000 will be provided to Zambia to finance mini-grids to increase access to electricity, as well as for the proliferation of clean cooking methods in Rwanda.
He said: “The Scottish Government is committed to playing its part as a good global citizen and helping to tackle global challenges like poverty, injustice and inequality.
“These initiatives illustrate what that means in practice – whether it is providing energy security to ensure that paediatric operations can reliably go ahead, or access to cleaner methods of cooking to reduce premature deaths from household air pollution.
“Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda are key partner countries for Scotland’s international development efforts.
“As a country that has long benefited from the industrialisation which has contributed to the current climate crisis, it is only right that Scotland contributes its fair share to support countries that have been disproportionately impacted by its consequences, and ensure we can meet the aims of the UN’s sustainable development goals together.”
It comes after the FM announced a further £2m in funding for projects tackling loss and damage caused by climate change in vulnerable communities.
