‘World’s first solar ambulance’ just proved it works | CNN

A third of Africans live more than two hours from health services. And electricity access is a major issue at medical facilities across the continent, limiting what care can be offered. A group of students from the Netherlands hopes a newly developed vehicle called Stella Juva can help bring healthcare to those who are struggling to access it. The solar-powered ambulance carries medical equipment including an X-ray machine, an ultrasound, and a fridge to keep vaccines cool. It has solar panels on its rooftop so it can charge while driving. Extendable solar panels that can fold out when it’s not moving give it extra charging area. Solar Team Eindhoven, a team of 23 students from Eindhoven University of Technology and two other educational institutions, says Stella Juva is the “world’s first solar ambulance.” In practice, it operates more like a mobile health clinic. Instead of ferrying patients around, it transports medical equipment, and the energy to power it, to places that don’t have those things. This month, the students tested the vehicle in Kenya, in partnership with the nongovernmental organization Amref Health Africa, to see if it could manage long distance travel