The Federal Government of Nigeria has said digital innovation is crucial to revolutionising the country’s healthcare system, with the potential to improve healthcare delivery, enhance patient care, and increase access to health services.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, made this assertion at the 5th Africa Digital Health Summit in Lagos, themed “Strengthening health systems through digital innovation, data, and AI”.
According to Dr Salako, digital technology is transforming the healthcare sector by removing physical barriers, enhancing workflow and automation, ensuring better access to services, transforming feedback mechanisms, and improving productivity.
“Digital technology is revolutionising the way we do things by removing physical barriers, enhancing workflow and automation, ensuring better access to services, transforming feedback mechanisms, and improving productivity,” he said.
The Minister spoke about the Nigeria Digital in Health Initiative (NDHI), launched to drive President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s agenda of ensuring every Nigerian receives quality healthcare without financial hardship.
“The NDHI is poised to protect and expand the Nigerian digital health space by providing standards and ensuring interoperability between solutions. It will also create millions of jobs by harnessing the innovative energy of the Nigerian youth,” Dr Salako said.
Dr Salako noted that collaboration and multisectoral partnerships are needed to bridge the gap between innovation and implementation, ensuring digital health solutions are scalable, sustainable, and not fragmented.
“Across government and multisectoral partnerships is what we need to bridge the gap between innovation and implementation, ensuring that digital health solutions are scalable, sustainable and not fragmented,” he said.
The Minister called for robust measures to safeguard digital health solutions against threats, cyberattacks, and breaches, prioritising ethics and safety. “We must prioritise ethics and safety in our solutions and deployments,” he said.
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