Madar (Niamey) - Niger's Energy Minister, Colonel Seyni Alzouma, on Friday handed Health Minister Garba Hakimi solar installations worth about 86 million CFA francs for the Poudriere Regional Hospital Centre in Niamey, the Niger Press Agency (ANP) reported on the evening of Friday, November 13, 2026.
Financed by the company Istithmar West Africa (IWA), the installations consist of a 35 kWp photovoltaic generator with 45 kWh of storage for the maternity ward and a 45 kWp generator with 40 kWh of storage for the operating theatre, a total of 80 kWp of capacity and 85 kWh of storage, according to the agency.
In a hospital, "particularly in a maternity ward and an operating theatre, electricity is not simply a technical need or a convenience, it is a fundamental condition for the continuity and safety of care," the energy minister said, noting that the hospital receives several hundred patients a day, particularly in gynaecology and paediatrics.
The minister added that equipping health facilities with solar power is now a key focus of his ministry, in line with commitments made at a forum on reducing maternal and child mortality, including a target of electrifying 80% of health centres by 2030 to cope with power supply disruptions and the high cost of running generators.
The equipment includes solar panels, lithium batteries, cables and inverters, as well as the renovation of the technical room, according to ANP. The health minister said it will power the operating theatre and its annexes and the neonatal unit of the maternity ward when supply from the national utility Nigelec and the backup generator is unavailable.
The director general of the donor company, present in Niger since 2019, said the energy produced covers 70% of the needs of the three services and that savings on the electricity bill could be redirected to improving patient care, according to the agency.
