PharmAccess Foundation has joined the Federal Government’s newly inaugurated Implementation Committee on Power Solutions for the Health Sector.

The announcement was made in a statement on Wednesday following the inauguration ceremony held in Abuja.

The committee was set up to develop and implement long-term solutions to the persistent electricity problems affecting healthcare delivery in Nigeria.

The committee, chaired by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, also includes the Federal Ministry of Power, World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank, Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Global Fund, and the Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN).

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Salako said the government was committed to solving the electricity crisis in the health sector through multi-sectoral collaboration.

“Unreliable power supply remains one of the biggest challenges faced by healthcare institutions,” the minister said in a statement.

“It severely impacts service delivery, medical equipment functionality, and patient care.”

He said the committee would explore public-private partnerships and alternative energy options such as solar and hybrid systems to improve energy access in hospitals.

The Country Director of PharmAccess Foundation, Njide Ndili, said the impact of unreliable power was being felt across both rural and urban healthcare facilities.

“Access to reliable power is a fundamental necessity for any functional healthcare system. Without it, we cannot provide consistent, high-quality care to patients,” she said.

Ndili noted that rural clinics in hard-to-reach communities were struggling to deliver care, especially during late hours, due to unstable electricity.

“Our impact evaluation from our public-private partnership project at the Primary Health Centre level in rural, hard-to-reach communities in Delta State has shown that unreliable power is a critical factor deterring patients from seeking care,” she said.

“Medical services, including after-hours care, are not optimal due to a lack of or limited electricity.”

She added that high diesel costs and poor grid supply were affecting even well-equipped urban hospitals.

“The unstable power affects the functionality of high-cost equipment such as CT scans and MRI machines,” she said.

“In addition, the high cost of diesel is placing an immense financial strain on urban hospitals, affecting their profitability and long-term sustainability.”