EU to Expend €10m on Solar Energy in Adamawa Hospitals

The European Union (EU) Head of Cooperation, Mr Kurt Cornelis has said that EU will expend 10 million Euros (over N4 billion) in providing solar power to health facilities in Adamawa, a state in north-eastern Nigeria, with its capital at Yola.

Mr Cornelius, while making this known during the launch of the project in Yola on Friday noted that the project was a partnership between the DFID, Adamawa State Local Government and the EU.

“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 was fully funded by DFID.

“The EU is scaling this project now by committing 30 Million Euros to support Kano, Kaduna and Adamawa states and an additional 7.5 million Euros in Borno.

“In Adamawa, we are investing 10 million Euros 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 the insurgency in the 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 the 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 located 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 the health sector particularly in a rural area, called for its extension to more health facilities in the state.

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