Nigeria: FG Sets 2027 Deadline for PHC Power Supply

The Federal Government has set a 2027 deadline to provide reliable electricity to at least 30 per cent of Nigeria’s health facilities, with about 40 per cent of functional Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) currently without electricity.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja at the launch of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA)-Renewable Asset Management Company (RAMCO).

Salako said the power shortage was affecting healthcare delivery because essential medical services depend on reliable electricity. He said the government’s Nigeria Power-for-Health Initiative was designed to improve electricity supply in health facilities, with a target of reaching at least 30 per cent by the end of 2027.

"In a hospital, electricity is not an amenity; it is a clinical input," he said.

The minister said electricity was needed to keep vaccine cold chains working, operate oxygen concentrators and operating theatres, and power incubators used for premature babies.

He said between 60 and 70 per cent of Nigeria’s primary and tertiary health facilities experience frequent power outages or have no electricity.

"About 40 per cent of functional PHCs have no electricity access, with most of the remaining 60 per cent receiving only six to 10 hours of electricity per day," he said.

The figures point to a major gap at the level of primary healthcare, where electricity supply is still unavailable in a substantial number of functioning facilities.

Energy costs are also draining hospitals

The power shortage is not only affecting medical services. Salako said unreliable electricity was imposing a heavy financial burden on teaching hospitals, which require between three and eight megawatts to operate properly.

He said such hospitals receive about five hours of electricity from the national grid each day. As a result, between 40 and 50 per cent of their operating expenditure goes into energy, much of it on diesel.

The minister said sustainable electricity had already reached some health institutions through government-backed programmes.

Federal tertiary health institutions, including teaching hospitals in Maiduguri and Calabar, have benefited from the Energising Education Programme, he said.

Under the Nigeria Electrification Project, 100 health facilities have received 50 kilowatt containerised solar hybrid systems. Salako said another phase would cover 400 PHCs.

The interventions, however, have also exposed another issue: keeping renewable energy systems working after installation.

Salako said the sustainability of renewable energy systems was still a major concern, making asset management an important part of the health electricity initiative.

The Federal Ministry of Power and the REA have been involved in providing sustainable electricity to health facilities, but Salako said the scale of the problem requires private capital and partnerships.

He said government alone could not finance the level of energy infrastructure required throughout Nigeria’s health system.

RAMCO gets health sector assignment

The minister presented four areas where RAMCO could work with the Nigeria Power-for-Health Initiative.

One proposal is for health facilities to be treated as a distinct asset class in RAMCO’s portfolio. Salako said this should begin with teaching hospitals already solarised through the Energising Education Programme and health facilities that received systems under the Nigeria Electrification Project.

He also proposed professional asset management by RAMCO alongside Facility Energy Management Teams in hospitals, with support from UK PACT.

Another proposal is to integrate RAMCO’s asset register with energy audits carried out in health facilities. Salako said this would give both sectors a single evidence base for planning and managing electricity assets.

He also proposed that a defined share of RAMCO’s capital be directed to PHCs, which he described as the least commercially attractive health facilities but highly important to maternal and newborn survival.

The Nigeria Power-for-Health Initiative was approved by President Bola Tinubu after the first National Stakeholders' Dialogue on Power in the Health Sector in September 2025.

That dialogue produced a Compact for the Sustainable Electrification of Public and Private Health Facilities. It was signed by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Power, sub-national governments, the Committee of CMDs/MDs, the private sector, development partners and civil society.

The dialogue also produced an implementation plan for securing steady electricity in at least 30 per cent of health facilities by the end of 2027.

A governance structure was also created for the initiative, with the REA and other government agencies represented.

Salako said the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare would support RAMCO by giving it a seat on the Inter-Agency Technical Committee of the Power-for-Health Initiative.

The arrangement places the management of existing renewable energy assets alongside plans to expand electricity access, with PHCs included in the proposed allocation of capital.