How World Bank, Power Ministry lift Nigeria’s health sector – Tegbe

By Onu Okorie

The  Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has confirmed that the Federal Ministry of Power as a co-driver of the National Healthcare Electrification Investor Matchmaking Forum initiative is already active in the field, having deployed solar mini-grids and hybrid systems to health facilities under the World Bank-funded Nigeria Electrification Project. 

He stated this while speaking at the National Healthcare Electrification Investor Matchmaking Forum, held under the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative NPHI in Lagos. The forum, convened by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with UK PACT and hosted by the Minister of State for Health, Dr Isiaq Salako brought together representatives of Federal and State Governments, Chief Medical Directors, Development Partners and Private Sector Leaders.

Tegbe noted that the Electricity Act provides the regulatory foundation for structuring Power Purchase Agreements, licensing mini-grid operators, and enabling state-level participation. Tegbe asserted that the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda with a vision to position Nigeria as Africa’s destination of choice for quality healthcare. He reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to delivering visible, measurable improvements in the power sector, with health facilities as a priority, and expressed appreciation to investors and development partners for their continued belief in Nigeria’s future.

The Minister also called on local and international investors to embrace sustainable financing models for the electrification of Nigeria’s healthcare facilities, describing the sector as one of the most compelling investment opportunities on the African continent.

Tegbe commended the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for convening the engagement, noting that reliable electricity is not merely an infrastructure requirement but a fundamental pillar of healthcare delivery. He disclosed that he has been a key stakeholder in the NPHI since its inception, even before his appointment as Minister of Power, describing the initiative as a personal commitment and reaffirmed his support on the  Minister of State Health. 

 He noted that the initiative offers an opportunity to integrate energy planning into health infrastructure development, deploy grid enhancement and renewable hybrid systems tailored to health facilities, and strengthen coordination between power sector institutions, health authorities, regulators, and private sector partners. Highlighting the scale of the opportunity, Minister Tegbe pointed to over 35,000 registered health facilities across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels nationwide, describing this as a substantial pipeline of bankable projects capable of attracting local and international capital into solar mini-grids, hybrid energy systems, battery storage, energy efficiency technologies, smart metering, facility energy management platforms, operations and maintenance services, and climate-resilient infrastructure.

Drawing on over three decades of experience advising governments on the structuring of complex reforms, the Minister told investors that the strength of the framework lay not in the ambition of its vision but in the quality of its structure, assuring them that the Federal Government would provide commitment and inter-ministerial coordination. 

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako further described the NPHI as a shift from donor-funded infrastructure to a sustainable Energy-as-a-Service model, under which specialized providers finance, deploy and maintain reliable power systems for health facilities, addressing the energy poverty undermining operating theatres, cold chain systems, diagnostics and emergency care. Built on blended financing, institutional readiness and national scalability, the framework currently targets federal tertiary hospitals, with plans to extend nationwide across primary, secondary and tertiary facilities, backed by a new governance structure to drive implementation and unlock private investment in the sector.