Nobody Left Behind

It's hard to imagine life without electricity. But for more than 750 million people around the world – 10% of the global population – life without electricity is a daily reality.

Q: Sustainability means making sure everybody gets a fair share of the world's resources. Yet millions still have no access to electricity. What can be done?

It's hard to imagine life without electricity. But for more than 750 million people around the world – 10% of the global population – life without electricity is a daily reality.

The challenge is greatest in sub-Saharan Africa, where just 47% of the population had access to electricity in 2018. In one African state, Burundi, only 11% of the country's nearly 12 million citizens can take advantage of electrical power.

While good progress is being made in expanding the availability of electricity – more than one billion people were connected between 2010 and 2018 – there is still a long way to go. Indeed, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that about 620 million people will still not have access to electricity by 2030, the UN's target date for 100% access to modern energy. The Covid-19 crisis adds a new layer of uncertainty. Supply chain disruption and economic contraction threaten to slow down electrification programmes and reverse the progress made so far.

“Even before today's unprecedented crisis, the world was not on track to meet key sustainable energy goals. Now, they are likely to become even harder to achieve,” Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA, warned in a statement earlier this year.

“We must double our efforts to bring affordable, reliable and cleaner energy to all – especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where the need is greatest – in order to build more prosperous and resilient economies.”

Q: Why does electrification matter?

Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy is one of the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Access to electricity is a fundamental part of these goals.

What makes electricity so important is that it touches just about every facet of social and economic development. In fact, electrification contributes directly and indirectly to almost all the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Education is one area where electrification can make a real difference. In schools, electricity provides lighting, as well as power for computers and access to information, while electric fans and cooling systems help to create a comfortable environment for students and teachers. In the home, electric light extends the time available for study and homework, without the need for smoky kerosene lamps or candles.

Research cited by the UN confirms the positive correlation between electrification and improved education. In Bhutan, rural electrifi - cation contributed to 0.65 additional years of schooling for girls and 0.41 additional years for boys. Meanwhile, research in villages in Madagascar show that household electrification helps children keep up with school. It also reduces gender inequality by providing girls, traditionally more engaged in housework than boys, with opportunities to study after dark.

Electricity also plays a vital part in fighting disease and safeguarding public health. Clean and reliable electricity for health centres, for example, not only keeps the lights on, but also powers communications, IT and medical apparatus – as well as refrigerators for life-saving vaccines. On top of this, electricity plays a key role in the provision of clean drinking water and sanitation.

Access to electrical power has an equally big impact on economic activity, enabling new businesses and boosting the productivity of existing ones.

It also has huge potential to promote gender equality, reducing the domestic burden for women and opening new economic, political, and social horizons. Data from Tanzania and Ghana shows a positive relationship between the productive use of electricity and women's economic empowerment.

What needs to be done?

Meeting the UN's target of getting power to everyone by 2030 will require dedication from governments, international agencies and NGOs.

Business also has a critical role to play. Nexans was the first company in the cable industry to create a corporate foundation to serve the public interest. Established in 2013 with an annual budget of €300.000, the Nexans Foundation supports access to energy for disadvantaged populations all over the world. In Ivory Coast, the foundation is working with IECD, an NGO, to sponsor the training of young electricians in a country where more than 8 million people currently have no access to electricity.

In Peru, the foundation is working in partnership with energy charity Light Up The World (LUTW) to provide photovoltaic systems for families living off grid. Training is given to solar entrepreneurs to stimulate the creation of clean energy jobs.

And in Brazil, Nexans is working with international development organisation Trias to provide better access to electricity for farmers.

These are just some of the examples of the vital work being carried out by the Nexans Foundation. The foundation has supported more than 120 projects in 38 countries since its formation seven years ago – creating a brighter future for more than 1.8 million people.