The Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Jobson Ewalefoh, has called on the Federal Government to explore private sector investments through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, to address the challenge of unreliable power in hospitals

Delivering a presentation titled Leveraging PPP Models for Reliable Power Infrastructure in Nigeria’s Health Facilities on Wednesday at the National Stakeholders’ Dialogue on Power in the Health Sector, Ewalefoh maintained that the PPP model has the capacity to transform service delivery and optimise costs in the health sector.

According to him, it would guarantee high availability of power for critical health loads, improve quality to protect sensitive medical equipment, reduce diesel reliance, cut operating costs, and lower emissions.

He said: “By aligning incentives around availability, quality, and efficiency, PPPs can provide sustainable power infrastructure for hospitals, reduce the national health system’s reliance on diesel, and create a replicable framework for resilient health services across the country. Private sector investment is critical in bridging the gap.”

Speaking further, Ewalefoh noted that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare would ensure power becomes a central consideration in all health infrastructure projects.

“For every project in the health sector, the first concern should be how to power it. Power must be factored into the model from the beginning

“The biggest challenge is not just building infrastructure but sustaining it, and the first thing that fails is power.”