FG wants private firms to help fix power for hospitals across Nigeria

The federal government has introduced a new plan to bring in private investment to provide steady electricity to hospitals in Nigeria.

Officials believe this step could boost healthcare services and lessen the problems caused by ongoing power shortages in hospitals.

The plan, called the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative (NPHI), was launched on Monday during the National Healthcare Electrification Investors Matchmaking Forum in Lagos.

At the event, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, stated that poor electricity supply is a big problem for hospitals. It affects essential services like surgeries, vaccine storage, lab tests, oxygen delivery, and emergency care.

He mentioned that the new plan aims to attract private investment to provide and manage sustainable energy solutions for healthcare facilities. This will help reduce reliance on traditional government-funded projects.

“Electricity is not just a utility in a healthcare facility. It powers life-saving services and technologies that support healthcare delivery. When electricity fails, healthcare delivery stagnates,” Mr Salako said.

Under this plan, hospitals will use an Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) model. This means private energy companies will pay for, install, operate, and maintain power systems while ensuring a steady electricity supply for the hospitals involved.

Mr Salako explained that this setup will let hospitals focus on delivering care while energy companies handle the power infrastructure and maintenance.

He said this initiative is a significant result of talks held during the National Stakeholders’ Dialogue on Power in the Health Sector. It shows a shift towards better financial support for healthcare facilities.

According to Mr Salako, the first phase of this program will target federal tertiary health institutions. There are plans to extend it to primary and secondary healthcare facilities across Nigeria.

The framework combines government support, development finance, climate finance, and private investment to expand healthcare electrification nationwide.

To ensure the plan works, the government has set up an Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee, a 24-member Inter-Agency Technical Committee, Facility Energy Management Teams, and a Project Secretariat within the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.

Mr Salako said the ministry is also working to prepare federal hospitals for investment by training finance and accounts directors on energy economics, project finance, sustainable business models, and how to engage with investors.

He added that the government is creating the right conditions to make hospitals more appealing to investors and energy developers.

Mr Salako also thanked the UK Partnership for Accelerating Climate Transitions (UK PACT) and Landell Mills International for their help in developing this plan.

Speaking to investors, banks, development finance institutions, and climate financiers at the forum, Mr Salako said healthcare electrification offers great investment opportunities while improving health services.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), electricity is essential for safe and effective healthcare. It powers everything from lighting and communications to vital medical equipment used in surgeries, diagnostics, vaccine storage, and emergency care.

The government's latest effort to electrify healthcare comes as public hospitals continue to face power supply issues. Many hospitals struggle with high electricity costs, debts, and long outages.

In recent years, several tertiary hospitals have experienced disruptions due to electricity shortages.

Earlier this year, the University College Hospital (UHC) in Ibadan faced a long blackout after being cut off from the national grid due to unpaid electricity bills.

This blackout affected clinical services, medical training, and led to protests by students and health workers. Resident doctors also mentioned the power crisis as a reason for strikes at the facility.

Hospital officials said the disconnection was due to accumulated debts running into billions of naira, showing the financial strain energy costs put on public health institutions. During the blackout, departments relied heavily on generators and other emergency power sources to keep critical services running.

Concerns about energy costs are not just specific to UCH Ibadan.

Last year, a teaching hospital in Akwa Ibom State reported that electricity bills made up about 40 percent of its internally generated revenue. This highlights the pressure rising energy costs put on healthcare institutions already struggling with funding.

In response, the federal government has recently looked at alternative energy solutions for hospitals.

In February 2025, it announced plans to switch hospitals to solar energy after UCH Ibadan faced severe power problems that affected clinical services.

This plan, part of the 2025 health sector energy strategy, will be carried out by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) as a long-term response to rising diesel costs and unstable grid power supply.

Increasing its efforts, government officials have also shared plans to solarise 371 Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) across 16 states and the Federal Capital Territory. This is part of ongoing reforms to cut reliance on the national grid and ensure critical services in care units, theatres, and laboratories remain available.

More recently, in January 2026, the government set up a 24-member Inter-Agency Technical Committee under the NPHI to coordinate the rollout of healthcare electrification projects nationwide.