The European Union (EU) will spend €10 million (Over N4 billion) in providing solar energy to some health facilities in Adamawa State, the EU Head of Cooperation, Mr Kurt Cornelis, has said.
The EU official made this known during the launch of the project in Yola, the state capital, on Friday, July 26, 2019.
He said: “We are here today because of the partnership between Adamawa State Government, DFID and the EU to launch a project that will help to provide access to sustainable energy to power hospitals that are off the grid in the state.
“The project – Solar Nigeria – is not new; it has proven to be successful in its first and second phases in Lagos State and in Kaduna State, which were fully funded by DFID.
“The EU is scaling this project now by committing €30 Million to support Kano, Kaduna and Adamawa states and additional €7.5 million in Borno.
“In Adamawa, we are investing €10 million out of the overall project budget to provide sustainable energy to eight health facilities across the state using solar PV. This includes five General Hospitals, one tertiary health institution and two primary healthcare centres.”
The state governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, lauded EU for the interventions which he said would bring relief to communities ravaged by insurgency in northern part of the state.
Fintiri, whose speech was read by his Chief of Staff, Prof. Maxwell Gidado, assured government support for the success of the project and urged for extension of such support to communities ravaged by farmers/herders’ conflicts in southern zone of the state.
Fintiri said that the state also needed assistance in the area of education and to the 4,000 refugees expected to be evacuated from Cameroon to Adamawa soon.
The Adamawa Permanent Secretary, Energy Department, Mr Mennas Ngangurah, said the health facilities were in Gulak, Michika, Mubi, Maiha, Garkida and Gaanda towns.
The Permanent Secretary, Adamawa Ministry Health, Mr Kennedy Bartimaus, who spoke on the impact of the project in health sector particularly in rural area, called for its extension to more health facilities in the state.
By Yakubu Uba
