The Federal Government has launched a landmark healthcare electrification marketplace aimed at attracting private sector investment to provide sustainable electricity to healthcare facilities across the country under the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative (NPHI).
The initiative, unveiled at the National Healthcare Electrification Investors Matchmaking Forum in Lagos, is designed to address persistent energy challenges in the health sector through innovative financing and long-term partnerships with private energy providers.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, described the programme as a major step towards transforming healthcare delivery by ensuring reliable electricity supply to hospitals and other health facilities nationwide.
According to him, the initiative represents a critical milestone in implementing resolutions reached at the National Stakeholders’ Dialogue on Power in the Health Sector and demonstrates the government’s commitment to tackling energy poverty within Nigeria’s healthcare system.
Dr Salako stressed that dependable electricity remains indispensable to quality healthcare delivery, noting that critical hospital services such as surgical operations, vaccine storage, diagnostic services, neonatal care, oxygen delivery systems, digital health technologies and emergency response mechanisms all rely heavily on a stable power supply.
“Electricity is not merely a utility in a healthcare facility; it powers life-saving services and technologies that healthcare delivery depends upon. When electricity fails, healthcare delivery stagnates,” he said.
The minister explained that the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative introduces a new Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) model that shifts healthcare electrification away from the traditional dependence on government and donor-funded infrastructure projects.
Under the model, specialised energy service providers will finance, deploy, operate and maintain energy systems for healthcare facilities while guaranteeing reliable power supply. This, he said, would enable hospitals to concentrate on their primary responsibility of delivering quality healthcare services.
He disclosed that the initiative is anchored on three strategic pillars—blended financing, institutional readiness and national scalability. Through a combination of government support, development finance, climate funding and private sector investment, the framework seeks to drive large-scale deployment of sustainable energy solutions across the health sector.
While the current phase targets federal tertiary healthcare institutions, Dr. Salako noted that the long-term vision is to extend reliable and sustainable electricity access to primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities across both public and private sectors nationwide.
To ensure effective implementation, the Federal Government has established a governance structure that includes an Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee, a 24-member Inter-Agency Technical Committee, Facility Energy Management Teams within participating institutions and a dedicated Project Secretariat domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
The minister also highlighted efforts to strengthen the sector’s investment readiness, revealing that Directors of Finance and Accounts in federal tertiary hospitals have undergone specialised training in energy economics, project finance, sustainable business models and investor engagement.
He commended the United Kingdom Partnership for Accelerating Climate Transitions (UK PACT) and Landell Mills International for supporting the development of the framework and advancing sustainable healthcare electrification efforts in Nigeria.
Calling on investors, development finance institutions, commercial banks, climate financiers and energy developers to seize the opportunities presented by the initiative, Dr Salako said the programme would create a platform where innovative ideas can be transformed into viable projects capable of delivering reliable electricity to healthcare facilities across the country.
“This is the beginning of a marketplace where ideas become projects, projects become investments, and investments become reliable electricity for healthcare facilities across Nigeria,” he stated.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare reaffirmed its commitment to collaborating with public and private sector stakeholders to improve energy access in healthcare facilities and strengthen health outcomes for Nigerians.
