By Archibong Esuene
Dr. Andy Eyo, Chief Executive Officer of the Excellence Community Education Welfare Scheme (ECEWS), has stressed the need to strengthen Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) and adopt new tax models to guarantee reliable power and sustainability for Nigeria’s health facilities.
Speaking as a panelist at the First National Stakeholders’ Dialogue on Power in the Health Sector in Abuja, Dr. Eyo said government alone cannot finance the infrastructure, energy, and technology needed to keep hospitals and primary health centres running effectively. He stressed that collaboration with the private sector, supported by clear incentives, will make health facilities more resilient.
“We need to build models where private companies can step in to support and maintain facilities, provided there are tax incentives that make such investments viable. The new tax model coming into effect gives us an opportunity to harness private resources for public good", he said.
Highlighting the huge costs of powering health institutions, he noted that some facilities require as much as 5.8 megawatts of electricity, an investment running into hundreds of thousands of dollars. “Government cannot shoulder this alone. That is why we must look at the advantages of PPPs and sustainable industry models,” he added.
Dr. Eyo explained that integration is also critical to efficiency, pointing to examples where a central laboratory system was able to support other smaller labs through shared resources and practices. “Joint systems expand coverage, reduce costs, and ensure sustainability,” he stated.
He further stressed that reliable electricity is vital for running health technology such as MRI machines and electronic medical records (EMRs). “Power must not be a barrier to diagnostic and treatment services. Facilities should be able to share resources to reduce the burden,” he remarked.
On possible solutions, Dr. Eyo identified three categories of power models, noting that solar energy is becoming increasingly practical. However, he cautioned that sustainable financing and private sector involvement are needed to scale such systems.
The ECEWS boss urged that partnerships must extend beyond large hospitals to include Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and community-based facilities. According to him, countries like the United States already support community systems directly, and Nigeria should learn from such examples.
He also pointed to opportunities for telecom and infrastructure companies to align their existing power systems with health facilities, thereby creating mutual benefits. “Communities and leaders must begin to see the benefits of these partnerships and embrace them,” he concluded.
The two-day dialogue, convened by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with the Ministry of Power, brought together stakeholders from government, the private sector, and development partners to explore solutions to Nigeria’s chronic power challenges in the health sector.
