Yinka Olatunbosun
The Federal Government has approved an institutional reform and financing framework to accelerate the electrification of health facilities nationwide, in a move officials say will bring reliable, 24-hour power to hospitals long hampered by erratic electricity supply.
The decisions were 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, which is targeting reliable electricity for at least 30 percent 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, drew top government officials, development partners and members of the Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC), which presented the recommendations under consideration.
Speaking at the meeting, Tegbe declared that the initiative must now move from announcements to actual project delivery. Describing the NPHI as one of the Tinubu administration’s flagship programmes, he said the emphasis should shift toward commissioning completed projects that Nigerians can see for themselves, rather than further groundbreaking ceremonies and public messaging.
He emphasized the need for teaching hospitals, state hospitals and primary healthcare centres fully energized, noting that the Rural Electrification Agency has already energized 5 Federal Teaching Hospitals and several other health facilities nationwide. He also tied the initiative directly to patient outcomes, arguing that dependable power would end hospitals’reliance on emergency generators, and pledged that the Ministry would continue to prioritize the initiative’s funding needs while ensuring value for money.
Salako, who disclosed the outcomes of the meeting, said the Steering Committee approved a financing framework to mobilize investment for healthcare electrification, alongside a facility energy management framework requiring participating hospitals to build sustainable systems for managing their energy infrastructure.
He said the committee also cleared eight (8) private sector proposals for further engagement, drawn from about 70 submissions received during the National Healthcare Electrification Investor Matchmaking Week in Lagos. He added that Energy Management Teams are already in place at federal tertiary hospitals, with state governments being encouraged to set up similar structures, and that the initiative will now be institutionalized through dedicated budgetary provisions and a full-time Project Coordination Unit to oversee implementation going forward.
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Power, Mahmud Mamman, underscored the stakes for the health sector, noting that uninterrupted electricity is essential for powering critical medical equipment, preserving vaccines, supporting laboratories and strengthening emergency response systems. He described the NPHI as a landmark collaboration bringing together government, development partners and the private sector to tackle one of the health sector’s most pressing infrastructure gaps.
The Nigeria Power for Health Initiative signals the Federal Government’s intent to treat reliable electricity as a pillar of healthcare delivery. As the NPHI moves from framework to delivering projects, it expresses the importance of healthcare reforms in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, where functional healthcare is defined not only by the personnel and equipment within it, but also by the power that keeps them running.