Gombe Launches Rural Healthcare, EU-funded Solar Project

Gombe State Government on Monday launched the European Union–funded Nigeria Solar for Health Project (NISHP), an initiative aimed at delivering reliable solar energy to rural healthcare facilities while expanding access to clean power for local businesses.

The project will deploy solar microgrids across ten rural secondary health centres and extend clean electricity to more than twenty small and medium enterprises in surrounding communities.

Speaking at the ceremony, Head of the Section for Green and Digital Economy at the EU Delegation to Nigeria, Mrs Inga Stephanowicz, said the initiative aligns with the EU’s Global Gateway programme and will support Nigeria’s broader clean energy transition, while improving health service delivery in Gombe State.

Stephanowicz emphasised that dependable energy is a prerequisite for quality healthcare and economic development.

With a combined generation capacity of 0.3 MWp, the programme is expected to drastically reduce energy-related costs, stabilise essential medical operations, and support income-generating activities in underserved areas.

Launching the project on behalf of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, the Deputy Governor, Dr Manassah Daniel Jatau, described the initiative as timely, strategic, and essential for improving health outcomes, especially in remote communities where a lack of reliable power often disrupts critical medical services.

According to Manassah, “As a government, we realise and accept that we can never succeed alone and so we remain grateful to all our donor partners, among which is the European Union that is into the Mini Hydro Power provision at Balanga Dam, NEWMAP, European Investment Bank Impact Funding through the today’s intervention on the funding of Nigeria for Solar Project.”

He noted that an uninterrupted power supply would directly enhance vaccination services, childbirth, emergency care, surgeries, and cold-chain operations.

The event featured the inauguration of a multi-stakeholder steering committee drawing members from the State Ministries of Energy and Health, the European Union Delegation, NTU International, GIZ and other partner institutions. The committee pledged full commitment to ensuring the transparent delivery and operational sustainability of the project.

Project partners, including NTU International, stressed the need for communities and stakeholders to adopt a culture of maintenance to guarantee the longevity of the installed solar systems, adding that sustainability must be built into every stage of the project to ensure that the benefits endure well beyond installation.

The NISHP launch in the state forms part of a larger €10.4 million EU investment being implemented across some Nigerian states, including Abia, Ekiti, Enugu, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, and Plateau.

Gombe State has already fulfilled its 30 per cent counterpart funding requirement, contributing one billion naira to the project’s rollout.