The Federal Government has approved a financing framework and a series of institutional reforms aimed at accelerating the electrification of health facilities nationwide, with a target of providing reliable 24-hour electricity to at least 30 per cent of public health institutions by the end of 2027.
The approvals were granted on Tuesday at the third meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee of the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative, a presidential programme jointly coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Federal Ministry of Power.
Speaking after the meeting, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, said the committee endorsed new governance arrangements, approved a facility energy management framework and cleared eight private sector proposals for further engagement from about 70 submissions received during the National Healthcare Electrification Investor Matchmaking Week in Lagos.
He said the decisions would accelerate efforts to provide uninterrupted electricity to hospitals through public-private partnerships.
According to Salako, the committee approved a financing framework designed to attract investment into healthcare electrification, alongside an energy management framework that will require participating health facilities to establish systems for the sustainable operation and maintenance of energy infrastructure.
He disclosed that Energy Management Teams had already been established in federal tertiary hospitals, while state governments had been encouraged to create similar structures in their health institutions.
Salako also announced that the initiative would be institutionalised through dedicated budgetary allocations and the establishment of a full-time Project Coordination Unit to oversee implementation.
He said the government intended to deliver reliable electricity to at least 30 per cent of Nigeria’s health facilities by the end of 2027, with the programme relying on public-private partnerships and energy-as-a-service delivery models.
The minister explained that energy solutions would be tailored to the needs of individual facilities, with technologies such as solar mini-grids, gas-powered systems and other alternatives deployed where most appropriate.
He noted that significant progress had been made since the initiative was launched about eight months ago, with governance structures largely established while electrification projects continued simultaneously at primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities.
According to him, the Rural Electrification Agency has already installed containerised solar power systems in about 100 hospitals across the country.
Responding to concerns about persistent power outages in hospitals, Salako said the initiative formed part of the Federal Government’s broader electricity sector reforms and expressed confidence that improved energy access would gradually reduce blackouts nationwide.
Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe said the programme had moved beyond the planning stage and would now focus on delivering completed projects that Nigerians could see and benefit from.
He stressed that reliable electricity would improve healthcare delivery by ensuring uninterrupted operation of critical medical equipment and reducing hospitals’ dependence on diesel generators, particularly during emergencies.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Power, Mahmuda Mamman, described stable electricity as essential for operating medical equipment, preserving vaccines, supporting laboratory services and strengthening emergency healthcare delivery.
He said the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative represented a major collaboration between the Federal Government, development partners and the private sector to tackle one of the health sector’s most pressing infrastructure challenges.
Nigeria’s public hospitals have long struggled with unreliable electricity, forcing many facilities to depend heavily on diesel generators to power operating theatres, intensive care units, laboratories, oxygen plants, blood banks and vaccine storage systems.
The rising cost of energy has also increased the financial burden on many tertiary hospitals, prompting the Federal Government to launch the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative in December 2025. The programme seeks to expand access to reliable electricity through public-private partnerships while creating a national database of healthcare electrification projects to improve coordination and attract private investment into the sector.
