The Federal Government has intensified efforts to attract local and international capital into Nigeria’s healthcare sector, with Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe declaring the electrification of over 35,000 health facilities nationwide as one of Africa’s most attractive investment opportunities.
Speaking at the National Healthcare Electrification Investor Matchmaking Forum held in Lagos under the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative (NPHI), Tegbe urged investors to embrace innovative and sustainable financing models capable of ending the chronic energy deficits that continue to undermine healthcare delivery across the country.
The forum, organised by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in partnership with UK PACT, brought together government officials, development partners, hospital administrators and private sector leaders to explore pathways for mobilising private capital into healthcare electrification.
Tegbe said reliable electricity had become indispensable to modern healthcare delivery, stressing that access to power was no longer merely an infrastructure issue but a critical determinant of patient outcomes, emergency response capabilities and the overall effectiveness of health institutions.
Describing himself as an early stakeholder in the initiative before assuming office as Minister of Power, he reaffirmed his commitment to driving its implementation, noting that the programme aligns with the power sector reform agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to the minister, the country’s more than 35,000 registered primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities represent a vast pipeline of commercially viable projects capable of attracting investment into solar mini-grids, hybrid energy systems, battery storage technologies, smart metering, energy management platforms and climate-resilient infrastructure.
“The opportunity before investors is significant and scalable,” Tegbe said, adding that healthcare electrification offers long-term prospects for sustainable returns while addressing a critical social need.
He assured prospective investors that the Federal Government would provide the policy support, regulatory certainty and inter-ministerial coordination required to de-risk investments and ensure successful project delivery.
Tegbe disclosed that the Ministry of Power is already implementing similar interventions through the World Bank-supported Nigeria Electrification Project, under which solar mini-grids and hybrid energy solutions have been deployed in healthcare facilities across the country.
He also pointed to the provisions of the Electricity Act as a robust regulatory framework that supports power purchase agreements, mini-grid licensing and increased participation by state governments in electricity projects.
The minister maintained that the ultimate goal of the initiative is to strengthen healthcare infrastructure and position Nigeria as a preferred destination for quality healthcare services in Africa.
Also speaking at the forum, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Adekunle Salako, described the NPHI as a strategic departure from traditional donor-dependent interventions towards a commercially sustainable Energy-as-a-Service model.
Under the framework, he explained, specialised energy providers would finance, install and maintain power systems for healthcare facilities, thereby eliminating one of the most persistent obstacles to effective healthcare delivery.
Salako noted that unreliable power supply continues to threaten the operation of theatres, diagnostic equipment, vaccine cold-chain systems and emergency services across many health institutions.
He said the initiative is built on blended financing mechanisms, institutional preparedness and national scalability, with the first phase targeting federal tertiary hospitals before expanding to primary and secondary healthcare facilities nationwide.
According to him, a new governance structure has already been established to drive implementation, strengthen investor confidence and unlock private-sector participation in the healthcare energy market.
The renewed push by government signals a major attempt to leverage private investment to solve one of the healthcare sector’s most enduring challenges, while simultaneously opening a potentially multi-billion-dollar market for clean energy developers and infrastructure financiers.
