Abuja: In Nigeria, the epileptic electricity supply has crippled many sectors, but none has felt the impact more severely than the health sector. From emergency surgeries to routine diagnostics, reliable electricity is crucial to saving lives. Yet, hospitals across the country continue to grapple with frequent power outages, mounting debts, and soaring energy costs.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, a vivid example was the disconnection of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, from the national grid by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) in 2024, due to unpaid debts running into millions of naira. With monthly bills of about N99 million, the hospital was plunged into darkness for over 100 days. Patients and their relatives lamented delays in treatment and diagnostics. One patient’s relative, identified as Tunji, said test results that should take six hours were delayed for up to 80 hours. ‘The results are now handwritten instead of printed, making them prone to errors. Babies cannot be admitted promptly into the newborn unit because incubators and warmers lack power,’ he said.
A hospital worker, who preferred anonymity, acknowledged management’s efforts in installing solar inverters in the intensive care and emergency units. However, the source admitted that the intervention was grossly inadequate. ‘The inverters cover only about 50 beds out of more than 1,000. Surgeries have reduced significantly, and many patients cannot access emergency procedures,’ the source said. The situation eventually escalated into industrial action by health workers who cited poor working and living conditions.
A similar crisis brewed at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), where the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) threatened to disconnect the facility in September over a N949.88 million debt. A temporary reprieve came only after the hospital separated its main campus from staff quarters. Relief, however, arrived on Sept. 17, when the Federal Government inaugurated a 4-megawatt solar hybrid power system with full battery storage at the hospital.
According to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, the project is designed to ease the financial and operational burden of powering the facility. He disclosed that the hospital had previously spent N1.6 million daily on diesel; a model he described as ‘unsustainable’. These developments underscore the magnitude of Nigeria’s power crisis in the health sector, prompting the Federal Government to convene the first National Stakeholders’ Dialogue on Power in the Health Sector.
The two-day event, held on Sept. 9 and Sept. 10 in Abuja, brought together government officials, private sector leaders, and development partners. It was themed, ‘Powering Health through Public-Private Synergy: Energising Nigeria’s Health Sector for the Future’. At the meeting, stakeholders highlighted the heavy toll of poor electricity on healthcare delivery. Minister of State for Health, Dr Iziaq Salako, revealed that 40 per cent of functional Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) operate without power. He said tertiary hospitals spend between N20 million and N180 million monthly on electricity, with fuel costs consuming up to half of their budgets.
The dialogue concluded with stakeholders signing a compact to improve power supply in health institutions by at least 50 per cent within two years. The agreement outlined key steps, including creating a national coordination framework, embedding energy planning into health programmes, and improving electricity access for rural health facilities. For patients, doctors, and communities, the consensus offers renewed hope that Nigerian hospitals may soon enjoy steady power.
