Experts have called for local investment and digital innovation to improve health outcomes in Nigeria.
The experts spoke at the third edition of the insights learning forum (ILF) organised by eHealth Africa and its partners in Abuja on Thursday.
The theme of the event was “Local investments for connected communities: The power of digital health networks in public health transformation”.
The forum attracted government officials, private sector leaders, health innovators, and development partners to explore strategies for building resilient and connected health systems across the continent.
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Ifunaya Ilodibe, chief executive officer (CEO) and chief medical officer (CMO) at EHA Clinics, said it is essential to invest in local communities.
Ilodibe added that digital tools are no longer optional but essential for expanding healthcare access, especially in a country facing severe workforce shortages.
She noted that community health extension workers, who are at the core of delivering healthcare services in rural areas, needed to enhance their use of digital tools.
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“Nigeria currently needs 237,000 doctors, and there are 35,000 of us. So digital health is not just a nice-to-have; it’s the only way to drive access,” she said.
“It is the only way to drive equity and the only way for us to guarantee some measure of quality within the healthcare service delivery in Nigeria.
“The use of digital tools to drive access helps to improve healthcare outcomes and also to drive policy changes within the government that empower these healthcare workers to continue to deliver quality care.”
Atif Fawaz, executive director of eHealth Africa, encouraged young innovators and researchers to bring their ideas forward, noting that innovations can be used in the e-commerce, private, and health sectors.
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“A healthy nation is a strong nation. So, we need to work more on health to have a stronger and healthier generation coming up. This is where I think the media’s turn will come to spotlight all of these things,” he said.
Muntaqa Umar-Sadiq, the national coordinator of the sector-wide coordinating office-programme management unit (SCO-PMU) for the Nigeria health sector renewal investment initiative (NHSRII), said there is a need to leverage data and innovation to strengthen health systems.
Umar-Sadiq said Nigeria’s health priorities, particularly reducing maternal and newborn mortality, require scalable and locally owned digital solutions.
“The government has prioritised digital health as an important component of its one plan. In addition, we have stakeholders here today who are committed to a country-owned, locally led solution using innovations in service delivery and digital health,” he said.
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