Zayed Sustainability Prize’s Beyond2020 Initiative Strengthens Healthcare Resilience for Over 200,000 People in India

A group backed by the UAE's Zayed Sustainability Prize has finished installing solar power systems at six health facilities in rural Karnataka, India, improving care for more than 200,000 people. The project, called Beyond2020, was carried out by SELCO Foundation, an Indian nonprofit that won the Zayed prize in 2018. It targets a real problem: many rural clinics in India run on unreliable electricity, which makes it hard to keep vaccines cold or run basic medical equipment.

Each facility has solar panels generating two to 15 kilowatts of power, paired with battery storage that holds one and a half to two days' worth of backup power. That steady electricity now runs baby warmers, phototherapy units, fetal monitors, ventilation devices, temperature-controlled vaccine carriers, and diagnostic tools like digital stethoscopes and telemedicine equipment. A mobile health clinic, run with a local NGO, extends the reach further into remote areas.

This news is about healthcare infrastructure in India, not a program homeowners elsewhere can tap into. But it's a clear example of the same technology behind many home solar-plus-battery setups scaled up for a different purpose: keeping essential equipment running when the grid can't be trusted. Beyond2020 has now completed 19 such projects worldwide, reaching over 429,800 people across countries including Nepal, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and now India, with a 20th project planned in Colombia.