By FOLASADE AKPAN

President Bola Tinubu has reaffirmed his administration?s commitment to tackling power challenges in Nigeria?s health sector through targeted and innovative energy solutions.

Tinubu made this known on Tuesday in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at the opening of the first National Stakeholders? Dialogue on Power in the Health Sector.

The two-day dialogue is themed: ?Powering Health through Public-Private Synergy: Energising Nigeria?s Health Sector for the Future.?

Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, the President said the government?s intervention would address the sub-optimal, inefficient, and uneconomical electricity supply in the health sector.

He noted that the current power situation increased healthcare costs, disrupted services, compromised quality, and fueled patient dissatisfaction.

He emphasised that advancing energy access in hospitals was not an isolated effort but part of the broader Renewed Hope Agenda.

?Through the Energy Transition Plan and our power sector reform initiatives, we are building a robust foundation for cleaner, more resilient, and decentralised energy delivery systems across Nigeria,? he said.

The President added that the administration was expanding off-grid solar and hybrid systems across critical public infrastructure, encouraging private sector participation through favourable policies, and promoting Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to support sustainable energy deployment.

?This national dialogue must not be a mere talkshop.

?It must produce actionable outcomes, such as alignment of national and subnational policies, institutionalisation of energy audits, mobilisation of financing streams like green bonds, and a results-driven monitoring framework,? he stressed.

Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, highlighted that the Ministry, through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), had deployed solar hybrid mini-grids, standalone solar home systems, and other renewable solutions to electrify healthcare centres nationwide.

He recalled that during the COVID-19 pandemic, 50kW solar mini-grids were installed in about 100 health facilities to ensure uninterrupted power supply for essential services.

He also cited progress under the Energising Education Programme, with notable installations across teaching hospitals.

?These include a 12MW hybrid solar system at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and a 7MW system at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital.

?These systems are not only delivering reliable power but also helping to separate clinical from residential and commercial usage, which reduces costs and ensures sustainability,? he said.

Minister of State for Health, Dr Iziaq Salako, said a recent survey revealed that 40 per cent of functional Primary Health Centres lacked electricity.

He added that some Federal Tertiary Institutions spend between N20 million and N180 million monthly on power, with up to 50 per cent of their operating expenses going into fuel.

?Our health system is not only underpowered but inefficiently powered. Energy supply has become a major disruptor of health services.

?This must be addressed urgently if our healthcare reforms are to succeed,? he said.

Salako called for a whole-of-government approach and innovative private sector investment, as public funding alone could not electrify the health sector at scale.

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, underscored the role of power and internet connectivity in transforming Nigeria?s health system.

?If we can fix power and internet connectivity, our health system will leapfrog.

?It will become iconic on the continent. Medical tourism will become a thing of the past,? he said.

Pate, however, noted that financing remained the biggest challenge, and called for mobilisation of private capital through PPPs to drive progress.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the dialogue, which concludes on Wednesday, aims to produce a national collaborative plan of action to comprehensively address the energy challenges constraining healthcare delivery across the country. (NAN)

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