Stronger PHC key to Nigeria’s healthcare system improvement — Minister’s aide

The Special Adviser on Research and Innovation to the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Lola Adeyemi, has disclosed that for Nigeria’s healthcare system to be better and perform optimally, the country needs a stronger Primary Health Care (PHC) where everybody has the right to access care.

Dr. Lola emerged as the 2025 Best & Brightest student at the Executive MBA of the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.

 In an interview with journalists in Abuja, she commended the efforts of the Federal Government for achieving much in the health sector, noting that: “We need to focus on getting the basics right which will take us further from where we are today. Strong primary health care is part of what will make Nigeria’s healthcare system better than yesterday, with everybody having the right to care.

“We can’t succeed if healthcare remains a privilege, universal access must be the goal and accountability and innovation that will take us further regarding getting the healthcare right.

“We also need Public Private Partnerships (PPP) using models where the government provides the regulatory backbone while the private sector and the non-public actors innovate service delivery.”

Responding to a question on how cancer burden can be reduced in Nigeria, Dr. Lola said: “Prevention is the most powerful tool that we have. We should scale up screening and diagnostics services, and everyone should have access to screening for cancer; it is cheaper and more affordable compared to caring for one or two people burdened with cancer, which affects their families and their source of livelihoods.

“We need to prioritise prevention and early detection, scaling up screening and diagnostics and research. Promoting research and clinical trials is such an important part of cancer care that a lot of times we don’t realise because we need locally made data and interventions for us to understand our unique cancer patterns in this population and to make that difference that we need for cancer control to succeed.

“And if we can embed cancer control in our universal health care coverage agenda, which we are trying to do now, we will not only save lives but will also reduce the long-term economic and social cost of the disease.”

On how she will use her knowledge to impact the health sector, she said: “The MBA has sharpened my leadership strategy and system thinking, and that is an opportunity to change policies and measure impact for Nigeria. Secondly, I see innovation, data and partnership as the areas between where we are and the health system that we deserve.”

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She noted that the biggest lesson gained during the MBA was recognising that effective leadership does not require having all the answers or skills myself, but rather understanding my strengths and limitations.

“My role is to identify and empower others with the right skill sets. Emphasising strategic agility, cross-sector collaboration, and investing in human capital has significantly improved my ability to successfully lead complex international projects and expedite the digital transformation of health research in Nigeria,” she stressed.