FG Targets Sustainable Power For Health Facilities By 2027
Reliable electricity is becoming a matter of life and death in Nigeria’s health facilities, where power failures can disrupt oxygen supply, vaccine storage, surgeries and newborn care.
For this, the Federal Government has set a target of providing steady electricity to at least 30 per cent of health facilities nationwide by the end of 2027.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said this on Wednesday in Abuja at the launch of the Renewable Asset Management Company (RAMCO) of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), where he called for closer collaboration between RAMCO and the Nigeria Power-for-Health Initiative.
He said between 60 and 70 per cent of Nigeria’s primary and tertiary health facilities experience frequent power outages or have no electricity, while about 40 per cent of functional Primary Health Care Centres lack electricity altogether.
According to him, teaching hospitals that require between three and eight megawatts for optimal operations often receive only about five hours of grid power daily and may spend 40 to 50 per cent of their operating costs on energy, much of it on diesel.
Salako said the Federal Government’s power-for-health strategy must move beyond installing solar systems to ensuring that renewable assets remain functional after commissioning.
He cited evidence showing that more than 30 per cent of solar systems installed in Primary Health Care Centres become non-functional within three years, largely because of poor maintenance, unavailable spare parts and unclear responsibility for the assets.
He proposed that health facilities be treated as a distinct asset class under RAMCO, with its asset-management model integrated into hospital energy teams and facility energy audits.
The Minister also called for part of RAMCO’s recycled capital to be channelled into Primary Health Care Centres, particularly those serving maternal and newborn health needs.
Salako said the Ministry of Health would give RAMCO a seat on the Inter-Agency Technical Committee of the Power-for-Health Initiative and work to make electricity a dedicated budget line across healthcare tiers.
“We will reach it by building assets that last, and by managing them as the national infrastructure they are,” he said.
He congratulated the REA, the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and InfraCorp on RAMCO’s launch, assuring the initiative of the Health Ministry’s continued support.
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