Designed and owned by Prof. Bartholomew Armah (PhD)
WHO/KEMRI Sub-Saharan Africa Health Facility Database
Maina J, Ouma PO, Macharia PM, et al. (2019). A spatial database of health facilities managed by the public health sector in sub Saharan Africa. Scientific Data, 6, 134.
98,745 public health facilities across 50 countries. Accessed via Humanitarian Data Exchange.
HIGH Horizons — Carbon Emission Assessment Report (2024)
Sulaiman Z, Mung'atia A, Maimela G, et al. Report on the carbon emission assessment of selected health facilities in Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Zenodo. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.12703876
Actual measured Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions from Aga Khan facilities (Kenya), Wits RHI sites (South Africa), and CeSHHAR facilities (Zimbabwe). CC-BY 4.0 licensed.
Cederberg Primary Care Subdistrict Study (2025)
Assessing greenhouse gas emissions in a primary care subdistrict in Cederberg, South Africa. BMC Health Services Research.
Measured: 1,228 tonnes CO₂e/year across 6 clinics (10.5 kg CO₂e per consultation). Used for South African clinic-level data.
IEA Emission Factors (2022)
Country-specific grid electricity emission factors (kg CO₂e/kWh) from the International Energy Agency.
Used for Scope 2 emission estimates.
IPCC Guidelines for National GHG Inventories
Default emission factor for diesel generators: 0.8 kg CO₂e/kWh.
Used for Scope 1 emission estimates.
Improving Energy Efficiency of Thermal Processes in Healthcare Institutions
Energies 2020, 13(3), 569. Healthcare facilities: 43–92 kWh per bed per day.
Used to model energy consumption for hospitals with known bed counts.
OpenStreetMap
© OpenStreetMap contributors. Tiles served via openstreetmap.org.
Where direct emission measurements are unavailable, the system estimates GHG emissions using the following approach:
Scope 1 (Direct emissions)
Calculated from on-site diesel generator consumption:
Scope 1 = Diesel consumption (kWh/yr) × 0.8 kg CO₂e/kWh ÷ 1000
The factor of 0.8 kg CO₂e/kWh is the IPCC default for diesel power generation.
Scope 2 (Indirect energy emissions)
Calculated from purchased grid electricity consumption:
Scope 2 = Grid consumption (kWh/yr) × Country emission factor (kg CO₂e/kWh) ÷ 1000
Country-specific grid emission factors are sourced from IEA (2022) and vary significantly — from 0.003 (DRC, hydro) to 0.928 (South Africa, coal).
Scope 3 (Value chain emissions)
NOT currently modelled. Includes pharmaceutical supply chain, medical equipment procurement, waste disposal, staff and patient transport, food services. Published research (Cederberg study) indicates Scope 3 can represent >90% of total primary care facility emissions.
Energy consumption estimation
Where meter data is unavailable, consumption is estimated from:
• Large hospitals: 60–92 kWh per bed per day (source: Energies 2020)
• Medium hospitals: 43–60 kWh per bed per day
• Small/rural clinics: ~25 kWh per day total
These are benchmarks; actual consumption varies by climate, equipment, and services offered.
Temporal factor selection
When multiple emission factors exist for a country (different years), the system uses the most recent factor with a reference year not exceeding the reporting year. This accounts for grid decarbonisation over time.