The Federal Government on Monday launched a major investment-driven reform aimed at addressing persistent electricity shortages in healthcare facilities, targeting at least 30 per cent uninterrupted power supply in hospitals nationwide by 2027 under the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative (NPHI).
The initiative was unveiled at the National Healthcare Electrification Investor Matchmaking Forum in Lagos by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, and the Minister of Power, Mr. Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe.
Speaking at the event, Salako described unreliable electricity as one of the biggest obstacles to effective healthcare delivery, saying the new initiative would move the country from policy discussions to practical investment solutions.
“Energy poverty is holding back our reforms and slowing down our healthcare transformation agenda,” he said.
According to him, frequent power outages continue to affect critical hospital services, including operating theatres, cold chain systems, incubators, diagnostic equipment, blood banking and emergency response operations.
“Electricity is not merely a utility in a healthcare facility. When electricity fails, healthcare delivery stagnates,” he added.
Salako noted that grid instability, voltage fluctuations and rising diesel costs have placed additional pressure on hospitals, with energy expenses consuming a significant portion of healthcare budgets.
He explained that the NPHI emerged from a national stakeholder dialogue involving the health, power, finance, environment and private sectors and has been approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the country’s framework for healthcare electrification.
The minister said the programme marks a departure from traditional government- and donor-funded infrastructure projects, which often suffer from poor maintenance and sustainability challenges.
“Too often, systems were procured, commissioned and celebrated, only to deteriorate due to weak maintenance and lack of lifecycle financing. The NPHI is designed to break that cycle,” he said.
Under the initiative, healthcare facilities will no longer directly manage energy infrastructure. Instead, private sector Energy Service Providers will deliver electricity through an Energy-as-a-Service model.
Salako said the programme would initially focus on federal tertiary hospitals before expanding to secondary, primary and private healthcare facilities across the country.
He disclosed that an Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee, a 24-member Inter-Agency Technical Committee, Facility Energy Management Teams and a dedicated project secretariat have been established to oversee implementation.
The minister also acknowledged the support of the United Kingdom Partnership for Accelerating Climate Transition (UK PACT) and Landell Mills International in developing the initiative.
In his keynote address, Tegbe said reliable electricity remains essential to quality healthcare delivery.
“We are not merely discussing electricity; we are discussing saving lives and removing the impediment to quality healthcare delivery,” he said.
He stated that the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s power sector reforms and the Renewed Hope Agenda, while providing a platform for integrating energy planning into healthcare infrastructure development.
According to him, the programme will deploy a mix of grid enhancement projects, embedded generation systems, renewable energy solutions and hybrid power technologies tailored to the needs of health facilities.
Tegbe described healthcare electrification as a significant investment opportunity, citing demand from more than 35,000 health facilities serving over 200 million Nigerians.
“The market is not a projection. It is 35,000 facilities serving over 200 million Nigerians,” he said.
He added that the government is shifting from grant-dependent infrastructure delivery to blended financing models that combine public funding, private investment and development finance.
Tegbe noted that the Electricity Act provides the regulatory framework needed to support power purchase agreements, mini-grid licensing and state-level participation, thereby boosting investor confidence.
He said solar mini-grids and hybrid power systems are already being deployed to some healthcare facilities and would be expanded under the NPHI framework.
While implementation will initially prioritise tertiary and secondary hospitals because of their larger patient volumes, he stressed that primary healthcare centres would also benefit through complementary interventions.
“We focus first on facilities that serve the larger population, but we are not excluding anyone in the health system,” he said.
