70% of Nigerian Health Facilities Face Power Outages

The Federal Government disclosed that between 60 and 70 percent of Nigeria’s primary and tertiary health facilities experience frequent electricity outages or lack power supply, adversely affecting healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, made this announcement on Wednesday in Abuja during the launch of the Rural Electrification Agency-Renewable Asset Management Company (REA-RAMCO).

He noted that about 40 percent of functional Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) have no access to electricity, with others receiving only six to ten hours of power daily. Teaching hospitals, which require three to eight megawatts to operate optimally, receive an average of five hours of grid electricity daily and allocate 40 to 50 percent of their operating costs to energy.

Salako emphasized the critical role of electricity in healthcare, stating that power failures can lead to loss of time, quality of service, and even lives. The government has initiated several interventions, including the Energising Education Programme and the Nigeria Electrification Project, which aims to provide solar hybrid systems to health facilities.

However, sustainability remains a challenge, with over 30 percent of solar systems becoming non-functional within three years due to maintenance issues.