The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Signify Foundation have entered into a three-year partnership to provide 10,000 solar lighting solutions to healthcare facilities across seven states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), aimed at improving healthcare delivery and safety in underserved communities.
The initiative, which targets hard-to-reach communities, seeks to address inadequate and unreliable electricity supply, particularly in health facilities providing maternal, reproductive and emergency healthcare services.
Under the partnership, 4,170 Philips Essential SmartBright solar streetlights and 5,830 solar floodlights will be installed in selected facilities across Borno, Yobe, Lagos, Ogun, Sokoto, Akwa Ibom and the FCT.
The first consignment of 3,334 units, comprising 1,390 solar streetlights and 1,944 solar floodlights, is expected to arrive in Nigeria before the end of 2026.
The intervention is expected to improve the safety, accessibility and operational capacity of healthcare facilities, particularly those serving women, girls, adolescents and other vulnerable groups.
Beneficiary facilities will include safe spaces, youth-friendly centres, obstetric fistula centres and MAMII health facilities, where adequate lighting is essential for providing secure and dignified healthcare services.
The initiative is also expected to strengthen maternal healthcare delivery by supporting emergency deliveries, obstetric interventions and other medical procedures requiring immediate attention, particularly at night.
Speaking on the partnership, UNFPA Resident Representative in Nigeria, Ms Muriel Mafico, described reliable electricity as a critical requirement for quality healthcare delivery, noting that the intervention would improve health outcomes in both development and humanitarian settings.
She said the provision of solar lighting would strengthen local healthcare infrastructure, extend service hours and improve emergency and maternal health responses.
According to Mafico, the initiative would also enhance confidentiality and safety for survivors of gender-based violence accessing designated safe spaces, while creating more opportunities for youth engagement.
She added that illuminating critical community facilities would promote safer environments, strengthen community resilience and improve outcomes for vulnerable populations.
Beyond healthcare delivery, the project is expected to improve the protection and dignity of women and girls, particularly survivors of gender-based violence who require confidential support services.
Adolescents and young people accessing youth-friendly centres are also expected to benefit from safer and more welcoming environments that encourage them to seek essential health information and services.
The Director of the Signify Foundation, Yue Cui, said the partnership demonstrated the importance of providing healthcare facilities with essential infrastructure to deliver services safely and effectively.
She noted that quality healthcare depended not only on medical personnel, medicines and equipment but also on creating adequately lit and secure environments for patients and health workers.
Cui described solar lighting as a practical solution that was easy to install and maintain, with the capacity to serve communities for several years.
She expressed the hope that the partnership would demonstrate how sustainable lighting interventions could make essential healthcare services safer and more accessible, particularly at a time when humanitarian resources were stretched.
The partnership builds on previous interventions by both organisations in Syria and Sudan, extending their collaboration on sustainable lighting solutions to underserved communities in Nigeria.
The three-year programme also highlights the growing importance of renewable energy in strengthening essential social infrastructure, particularly in communities where conventional electricity supply remains unreliable or inaccessible.
UNFPA, the United Nations agency responsible for sexual and reproductive health, works towards ensuring that every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.
The Signify Foundation, an independent non-profit organisation primarily funded by Signify, focuses on expanding access to lighting in underserved communities worldwide.
With the first consignment expected before the end of 2026, the partnership is expected to provide critical support to healthcare facilities operating in challenging humanitarian and development environments.
