By| Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja
The Federal Government has approved a new institutional reform and financing framework aimed at accelerating the electrification of health facilities nationwide and ensuring reliable, 24-hour electricity supply to hospitals.
The decision was reached at the third meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee (IMSC) of the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative (NPHI), a presidential programme jointly coordinated by the Federal Ministries of Power and Health and Social Welfare.
The initiative is targeting reliable electricity for at least 30 per cent of Nigeria’s health facilities by the end of 2027.
The meeting, chaired by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Isiaq Salako, and co-chaired by the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, was attended by senior government officials, development partners and members of the Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC).
Speaking at the meeting, Tegbe said the NPHI must move beyond announcements and groundbreaking ceremonies to the actual delivery and commissioning of completed projects.
He described the initiative as one of the flagship programmes of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, stressing that Nigerians must begin to see tangible improvements in the power supply to hospitals.
Tegbe said teaching hospitals, state hospitals and primary healthcare centres must be fully energised, noting that the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) had already electrified five Federal Teaching Hospitals and several other health facilities across the country.
He linked reliable electricity directly to improved patient outcomes, saying stable power would reduce hospitals’ dependence on emergency generators and ensure critical medical services operate without interruptions.
The Minister also assured that the Ministry of Power would continue to prioritise funding for the initiative while ensuring value for money in project implementation.
Salako, who disclosed the outcomes of the meeting, said the Steering Committee approved a financing framework designed to mobilise investments for healthcare electrification.
He said the committee also approved a facility energy management framework that would require participating hospitals to establish sustainable systems for managing and maintaining their energy infrastructure.
According to him, eight private-sector proposals have been cleared for further engagement from about 70 submissions received during the National Healthcare Electrification Investor Matchmaking Week held in Lagos.
Salako further disclosed that Energy Management Teams had already been established at federal tertiary hospitals, while state governments were being encouraged to establish similar structures.
He said the initiative would now be institutionalised through dedicated budgetary provisions and the establishment of a full-time Project Coordination Unit to oversee implementation.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Mahmud Mamman, said uninterrupted electricity was critical to the effective functioning of the health sector.
Mamman noted that dependable power was required to operate critical medical equipment, preserve vaccines, support laboratories and strengthen emergency response systems.
He described the NPHI as a landmark collaboration between government, development partners and the private sector to address one of the most critical infrastructure gaps affecting healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
The Nigeria Power for Health Initiative is expected to make reliable electricity a central pillar of healthcare delivery as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to implement the Renewed Hope Agenda.
With the approval of the institutional and financing frameworks, the initiative is now expected to move from policy development to project implementation, with government seeking to ensure that healthcare facilities have the power required to keep essential services running around the clock.
