The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, has promised the commitment of the Ministry to address the challenges of power facing the Nigeria health sector.
Speaking at the end of the 1st National Dialogue of interested parties about power in the health sector, Salako emphasized the importance of power in the health sector and the need for collective efforts to address challenges.
He said: “We know that power is critical for health, and we need to work together to ensure that our health sector receives the power it needs to function effectively,” Salako said.
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He praised the dialogue for providing a platform for interested parties to discuss the challenges and possible solutions to the energy crisis in the health sector.
The minister pointed out the importance of the precise diagnosis of the problems facing the health sector, noting that the dialogue had provided a good understanding of the challenges. “Once we have a precise diagnosis, the problem is halfway,” he said.
Salako praised the participants for their commitment to find solutions to the crisis of power in the health sector. “Our vision is that when we meet again in two years to review, at least we will have an improved power in the health sector for not less than 50%,” he said.
The minister thanked all the participants for their contributions to the dialogue and promised the commitment of the Ministry to work with other interested parties to improve power in the health sector.
Also speaking, the technical assistant of the State Minister, Dr. Olakunle Daramola, while reading the statement, announced that the 1st National Dialogue of Interests on Power in the Health Sector has ended with the commitment to improve the supply of energy in the health facilities of Nigeria.
According to Daramola, the dialogue achieved its objectives to evaluate and review the existing electrical policy environments, explore renewable energy options and strengthen public-private partnerships for the supply of electricity.
“We have been able to learn many lessons, obtain some experiences and then explore options, renewable energy options and then strengthen public-private partnerships of the electricity supply,” he said.
Daramola said that dialogue emphasized the importance of a stable energy supply in the provision of medical care, citing significant financial tension and services committed to hospitals throughout the country due to the current energy deficit. “Electricity is essential for health benefit, and incessant interruptions cost lives directly,” he said.
The dialogue also highlighted the need for better coordination and alignment of the efforts of several financiers and development partners. “The efforts of several financiers and development partners may be better aligned and coordinated,” said Daramola, adding that a coordination framework for implementation was proposed.
Daramola described the next steps, which include instituting a powerful national coordination framework, expanding globalization with a national party and institutionalizing operational and monetary frameworks. “Our next step will be to take advantage of this to be a process to build,” he said.
The dialogue concluded with the commitment to develop solutions at the national level, create real and private digital and private systems and integrate energy into a better plan.
“We maintain a compact of multiple interested parties with Claros KPI, including the compact implementation monitoring unit,” Daramola said.
Interested parties aim to review the achievements and evaluate progress in the next meeting, with an approach to the implementation of the action plan and improve energy supply in the Nigeria health sector..
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