Nigeria’s minister of health, Dr Muhammad Ali Pate, has assured that the country is committed to Africa’s digital health revolution.
Pate gave the assurance while giving his remarks at the African Union 4D Trusted Health Showcase Meeting recently.
He said that Nigeria, as a country, is currently committed to the path of innovation, especially concerning digital technology.
He noted that Nigeria’s digital agenda will see all levels of society being impacted by technology-driven transformation, adding that health is not an exception.
The minister further stated that while digital technology can improve health outcomes, particularly in low-resource settings, a fragmented landscape of actors and interests working to implement digital health solutions can lead to a lack of coordination, waste, and unrealized benefits.
He added:
”There can be an opportunity to build health solutions around market needs in a coordinated and integrated way if digital health strategies are aligned with the health priorities established by communities, countries, and regions.
”Starting with community- and country-led priorities can aid the private sector in developing digital health strategies that are responsive to the needs of patients and communities.
”Collaboration among the actors of the ecosystems for health and technology advances the business opportunities and impact.
”In that context, the emphasis on the interplay between the surge of digital health innovation across Africa and the quest to digitize community and primary health care, localize key value chains in the pharma manufacturing, biotechnology, vaccine production, diagnostics development, and medicine discovery domains reflects a major priority for us in Nigeria.”