The federal government has called on private sector including entrepreneurs and technology innovators to invest in Nigeria’s digital health system to build digital health systems capable of transforming healthcare delivery and positioning the country as a continental leader in health technology.
- +FG seeks private sector investment to drive digital healthcare solutions
The call was made on Wednesday at the opening of the 2026 Insights Learning Forum (ILF), organised by eHealth Africa in Abuja under the theme, “Insights.
The call was made on Wednesday at the opening of the 2026 Insights Learning Forum (ILF), organised by eHealth Africa in Abuja under the theme, “Insights. Partnerships. Inclusion. Interoperability. Investment.”
Muhammad Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, represented by Obi Adigwe, Director-General of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), said the government is developing policies and regulatory frameworks to support emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, telemedicine and electronic health records, while strengthening the country’s capacity to adopt global digital health standards.
Pate challenged private sector players to identify the incentives they require to expand investments in digital health, noting that government is ready to engage stakeholders to create an enabling environment.
“So what remains now is for us to explore the private sector. If there are limitations, if there are incentives you require from government, what are they? Speak now. For entrepreneurs, how better can we contextualise the ecosystem to make things better for you? Do you need dedicated data centre infrastructure or do you prefer cloud services? If you want innovation hubs we can begin to engage different states to facilitate your entrepreneurial spirit and your innovation drive,” the minister stated.
Highlighting the potential of technology to transform healthcare, Pate said Nigeria aims to replicate the success recorded in the fintech sector by creating innovative health technology solutions capable of addressing local challenges while competing globally.
He noted that digital innovations should be designed not only to improve healthcare delivery in Nigeria but also to strengthen collaboration across Africa through shared standards, data exchange and interoperable systems.
He noted President Bola Tinubu’s recent approval of the National Health Technology and Data Analytics Office signalled Nigeria’s determination to coordinate and harmonise digital health interventions across the country.
According to him, while Nigeria already has several digital health initiatives—including electronic health records, laboratory quality management systems, disease surveillance platforms and other health information systems,the challenge has been fragmentation.
He said the new office would ensure that future digital health investments and innovations are guided by three core principles: security, interoperability and data sovereignty.
The minister stressed that Africa’s greatest opportunity lies in developing technologies that solve the continent’s own healthcare challenges. While noting that technology companies now dominate global market capitalisation, he said the world’s most successful innovations were those solving the biggest societal problems. “The interventions that most likely will make the most money are those that solve the biggest problems. Africa has healthcare challenges. What remains is for us to contextualise technology to solve those problems while creating wealth for innovators,” he said.
He added that Nigeria had already demonstrated what coordinated collaboration between government and the private sector could achieve through the fintech sector.
Earlier, Atef Fawaz, Executive Director of eHealth Africa, said stronger partnerships and locally driven solutions were essential to improving health outcomes across the continent.
He said the organisation has implemented health programmes in more than 25 African countries over the past 15 years, demonstrating that meaningful impact can be achieved through collaboration rather than expanding physical infrastructure.
Fawaz noted that shrinking global health financing and shifting geopolitical realities have made it imperative for African institutions to work together in developing sustainable, homegrown solutions.
Also speaking, Ota Akhigbe, eHealth Africa’s Director of Partnerships, , said Africa has made significant health gains over the past two decades but warned that fragmented systems, declining donor funding and weak institutional ownership continue to threaten progress.
He described the Insights Learning Forum as a platform designed to bridge the gap between innovation, policy and implementation, enabling governments, investors, researchers and development partners to jointly develop sustainable health solutions.
Akhigbe said discussions during the two-day forum would focus on digital health, financing, interoperability, primary healthcare, climate resilience, public health intelligence and youth engagement, with participants expected to make practical commitments that can strengthen health systems across Africa.
