## 1 Introduction  
In developing countries, most rural settlements are characterized by insufficient power supplies that hinders the community's growth in terms of socioeconomic development, the lack of which has affected the standard of living and promotes poverty amongst rural inhabitants. Reliable energy access is essential for healthcare facilities in these remote communities as energy is needed to power medical equipment, for vaccine storage and to perform life-saving operations [1]. Most times, healthcare service delivery at nights is performed using kerosene lamps, candles, rechargeable lamps or torchlights. According to [2], maternal and child mortality rates are rapidly increasing on a daily basis, owing to the lack of good medical care amongst the rural dwellers. The poor working conditions and environment lead to a loss of medical professionals owing to a lack of job satisfaction. Conventionally, diesel generators are mostly used to supply power to remote healthcare centers where connection to the grid is feasible and infeasible. However, there are problems associated with the use of diesel generators such as fuel costs and carbon emissions, which can have a negative effect on the health of the rural dwellers and healthcare personnel [3]. In order to overcome these challenges, renewable energy sources serve as a better solution to provide reliable and sustainable energy for healthcare facilities in rural communities for an off-grid system and for an unreliable grid-connected network [4]. This would improve the efficiency of healthcare service delivery, reduce operating costs and decrease the emissions effect. However, renewable energy systems are characterized by the problem of intermittency, which can lead to an imbalance in supply and demand [5]. Hybrid energy systems have been considered to mitigate this problem owing to their high reliability and the available intensity of solar radiation and wind speed. The hybrid energy system comprises wind turbines, solar PV and battery storage with diesel generators and will present the opportunity to provide lighting and to power essential medical equipment for effective healthcare delivery for the people. Several studies have been conducted to evaluate both the single and multiple energy source configurations for an off-grid system. A study on the power scheduling for agricultural applications using hybrid energy systems which combine heat and power, wind turbines, solar PV and a battery storage system was presented in [5]. The system design, sizing and a techno-economic analysis of hybrid energy systems for the electrification of a rural community on a grid connected system are presented in [6]. In [7], a techno-economic and environmental analysis of a solar PV system for powering a water supply system for abattoirs in Nigeria was presented. The system design and an economic assessment of a hybrid microgrid system which comprises wind turbines, solar PV, generators and a battery storage system for a financial institution in a remote community is presented in [8]. Ref. [9] presents a feasibility study on the deployment of local renewable energy resources for an off-grid system for the electrification of a rural community in Brazil. Furthermore, a techno-economic and environmental assessment of the performance of a hybrid renewable system for the sustainable infrastructural development of an urban area in Green Vancouver is presented in [10]. In [11], a system design and techno-economic analysis of an isolated hybrid energy system for a radio transmitting station was presented. Recent studies show that there is scarce literature exploring the application of hybrid energy systems for the electrification of rural healthcare facilities. A technical and economic analysis of hybrid energy systems for an off-grid healthcare center in a remote community in Nigeria is presented in [12]. Ref. [13] presents a techno-economic and environmental feasibility study for hybrid renewable energy resources for hospital loads in Iran. Ref.