PPP, key to unlocking Nigeria’s diagnostics revolution, Akinloye tells investors

NIGERIA must deepen public-private partnerships (PPPs) to unlock billions of dollars in opportunities emerging from the rapidly evolving diagnostics and healthcare technology industry, Professor Olufemi Akinloye, Director of the Centre for Genomics of Non-Communicable Diseases and Personalised Healthcare at the University of Lagos, has said.

Speaking at the 2026 World Health Expo in Lagos, Akinloye said strategic collaboration between government, private investors, technology firms, healthcare providers and research institutions would be critical to positioning Nigeria as a major player in the global diagnostics market, which is increasingly being driven by artificial intelligence, genomics, robotics and digital healthcare systems.

According to him, healthcare diagnostics is undergoing a fundamental transformation from conventional laboratory testing to personalised, technology-driven healthcare solutions, creating new opportunities for investment, innovation and business partnerships.

“Public-private partnership is a way to open the door for the future of this business,” Akinloye said, noting that the sector’s evolution is being fuelled by significant investments in automation, engineering, digital infrastructure and emerging technologies.

The genomics expert explained that the diagnostics industry has expanded far beyond traditional microscopy and observational diagnosis, with modern laboratories now relying on sophisticated technologies capable of detecting disease markers, monitoring chronic illnesses and generating massive volumes of health data for clinical decision-making.

He noted that increasing demand for laboratory testing globally has been accompanied by unprecedented technological innovation, with engineering, computer science, mathematics and biotechnology increasingly converging to reshape healthcare delivery.

Akinloye said automation and robotics have dramatically transformed laboratory operations, reducing human intervention while improving speed, accuracy and efficiency.

“In most advanced laboratories today, you are interfacing with automated systems fabricated through collaboration between engineers, biologists and technology companies,” he said.

He added that artificial intelligence is accelerating the transition by enabling machines to interpret diagnostic information, analyse medical images and support clinical decision-making with minimal human involvement.

The professor highlighted the growing role of digital health platforms in managing chronic diseases, particularly diabetes, where patients can monitor their health status in real time through connected devices linked to physicians, laboratories and pharmacies.

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“Asymptomatic diseases in the next 10 years may no longer remain undetected because of innovation,” he said.

Akinloye cited examples from North America, Japan and China where highly automated laboratory ecosystems now allow healthcare professionals to remotely monitor laboratory processes, access results through cloud-based systems and operate sophisticated diagnostic equipment using digital interfaces.

He said similar innovations are beginning to reshape pathology and cancer diagnostics, enabling specialists located in different countries to simultaneously review medical images and collaborate on diagnoses in real time.

The scientist also disclosed that his research team has developed an artificial intelligence-based diagnostic model trained with over 25,000 medical images capable of identifying and classifying cancerous conditions from digitised pathology slides.

According to him, such innovations have the potential to significantly reduce diagnostic errors, improve treatment outcomes and expand access to specialist healthcare services.

However, he stressed that scaling these technologies across Nigeria and Africa would require substantial investment in infrastructure, digital connectivity, research and development, regulatory frameworks and workforce training.

Industry stakeholders at the expo noted that the convergence of healthcare and technology is creating one of the fastest-growing investment segments globally, with opportunities spanning laboratory services, genomics, telemedicine, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, medical devices and health data analytics.

For Nigeria, analysts say stronger public-private collaboration could help bridge longstanding gaps in healthcare infrastructure while attracting foreign investment into a sector increasingly viewed as critical to economic diversification and human capital development.

As healthcare systems worldwide embrace precision medicine and digital diagnostics, Akinloye argued that countries that successfully foster partnerships between government, academia and the private sector would be best positioned to capture the economic and health benefits of the emerging revolution.

“The future of diagnostics is no longer just about testing,” he said. “It is about innovation, technology, data, collaboration and partnerships that improve healthcare outcomes while creating new opportunities for business and investment.”