Samsung has unveiled its Solar Powered Healthcare Centre at the Samsung Africa Forum currently on-going in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Solar Powered Healthcare Centre is designed to provide healthcare in rural areas and its establishment had marked the start of a large-scale medical initiative on the continent making medical treatment accessibility regular to people in remote areas.

The Solar Powered Health Centre is mobile and is run by qualified medical professionals, who will move from one area to the next giving quality medical treatment for the eye, ear, blood and also provide dental medical services to the public.

The primary focus will be on screening people to determine illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, tooth decay and cataracts. The centres will also provide enlightenment programmes about health issues and encourage people in communities to take tests as preventative measure.

Samsung’s partners on this project, including the Department of Health and pharmaceutical companies, medical universities, and organisations that are involved in health care like World Vision, and Doctors without Borders, will provide medical products.

“There is still much to be done in South Africa to educate people about the importance of basic preventative medical screening and treatment. What many see as minor health issues will not only get worse over time, but will affect other aspects of quality of life. The child that cannot see properly cannot learn properly,” Mandlalele Mhinga, medical expert, and Trustee and active member of the Nelson Mandel Children’s Hospital said.

“Mobile solutions help address this issue by making medical services accessible to more people in rural areas, and educating them about health care at the same time. When corporates come on board and partner with government by using their unique expertise to contribute to a better society – we see powerful results”.

Samsung has a target to reach one million people through its Solar Powered Health Centres by 2015 – as part of its broader Corporate Social Responsibility it aims to positively impact the lives of five million people in Africa by 2015.

The mobile medical centre is providing the much-needed attention as World Bank stipulates that more than 60% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa live in rural areas with very minimal resources to reach clinics for proactive medical care. Reports claim that in South Africa alone, only approximately 20% of the population is served by private medical schemes, with the public health sector struggling to cater to the remaining 80% of the population.

“We have been providing medical services to rural areas in Africa for a few years now through our annual Employee Volunteer Programmes”, Ntutule Tshenye, Business-to-Government and Corporate Citizenship Lead for Samsung Africa said.

“This experience has shown us how desperately medical treatment is needed across the continent, and inspired us to develop a sustainable and innovative solution to reach the people who need it most. While our CSR strategy in Africa is largely focused on education, our efforts to enrich lives will not be felt if people’s basic needs, such as access to healthcare, are not met.”

Samsung Africa’s broader CSR strategy involves a continued focus on three key areas: education, healthcare, and rural connectivity – in line with the company’s global ‘Hope for Children’ initiative.

It also places emphases on developing products that are built specifically for African conditions in an effort to improve lives, as seen in its ‘Built for Africa’ product range.