The Federal Government has said Nigeria requires about N500 billion in capital and operational investment over the next five years to scale digital health infrastructure nationwide, warning that inadequate domestic financing remains one of the biggest obstacles to achieving universal health coverage and sustaining healthcare innovations beyond pilot projects.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, disclosed this on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the 6th Africa Digital Health Summit (ADHS 2026) in Abuja, where he called on pension fund administrators, development partners and private-sector investors to support the country’s digital health transformation agenda.
Salako said while Nigeria had made significant progress in developing digital health systems, the transition from fragmented pilot programmes to integrated, nationwide platforms would require substantial and sustained investment.
“A key area of possible domestic investment to grow digital healthcare is in the use of our pension fund resources,” the minister said.
“I therefore call on the National Pension Commission and the Pension Fund Administrators to look into digital health in their investment portfolio. Our plan is costed, requiring an estimated investment of about N500 billion in capital and operational costs over the next five years.”
Speaking on the summit theme, “From Pilot to Scale: Growing Africa’s Digital Health Innovation Ecosystem,” Salako noted that governments, donors and development agencies across Africa had invested heavily in digital health solutions over the past decade, but many initiatives remained donor-dependent and confined to pilot stages.
“The question before us is no longer whether digital health works. We know it works. The question is how we move from promising pilots to national impact,” he said.
The minister highlighted several milestones recorded under the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, including the approval of the Nigeria Digital-in-Health Initiative by the National Council on Health in November 2024 and the endorsement of the National Digital Health Architecture (NDHA) by all states and the Federal Capital Territory in June 2025.
According to him, the architecture provides a framework for integrating health information systems through a national health client registry linked to the National Identification Number, health worker and facility registries, standardised medical terminologies and a health information exchange platform.
He disclosed that the government had developed a costed five-year implementation plan and that an assessment of 79 federal tertiary hospitals showed an average electronic medical records adoption rate of 74.5 per cent.
Salako also cited progress in upgrading the Nigeria Health Worker Registry, deploying the Open Logistics Management Information System across all 774 local government areas and 835 cold-chain stores, and rolling out the Electronic Immunisation Registry nationwide.
Despite the gains, he acknowledged persistent challenges, including fragmented health information systems, poor electricity supply, inadequate internet connectivity, shortages of skilled digital health professionals and continued dependence on donor funding.
He revealed that 43 per cent of primary healthcare centres in the country lack electricity, while 60 per cent of facilities in rural areas have no internet connectivity.
“Without reliable power and connectivity, digital health cannot reach the populations that need it most,” he said.
The minister also raised concerns over the existence of multiple parallel health information systems that do not communicate with one another, saying the lack of interoperability undermines continuity of care and evidence-based decision-making.
“Without a unified approach, we cannot achieve the vision of one patient, one health record,” he added.
Salako urged development partners to align future investments with the National Digital Health Architecture and encouraged state governments to take advantage of incentives under the HOPE Primary Healthcare Programme, which rewards states that adopt national digital health standards.
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He further assured private-sector innovators that the government was creating opportunities for collaboration and integrating them into the design of future digital health solutions.
“The architecture exists, the standards are defined, the phasing is clear and costed. What comes next is not a technology project but an act of national will, sustained across governments, aligned across donors, owned by Nigeria, and built for Nigerians,” he said.
Digital health experts have also urged African governments to move beyond fragmented pilot projects and prioritise the nationwide adoption of proven digital health innovations, warning that sustainability, financing and interoperability remain major barriers to stronger health systems.
The call was made at the Pre-Africa Digital Health Summit (ADHS) Abuja Roundtable, convened by Vantage Health Technologies, part of the BroadReach Group, in partnership with the Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED), ahead of the summit.
The roundtable brought together senior officials from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the National AIDS and STIs Control Programme (NASCP), the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), development partners, implementing organisations, academia and private sector stakeholders to examine how successful digital health innovations can be scaled into nationally owned health systems.
Participants agreed that while Africa has recorded significant progress in digital health innovation, too many successful projects remain donor-dependent or fail to move beyond pilot stages.
Opening the session, Paul Bhuhi of Vantage Health Technologies said the debate had shifted from whether technology can improve health outcomes to how countries can sustainably expand proven innovations.
“Across Africa, we are seeing unprecedented investment in digital health innovation. The challenge before us is no longer whether technology can improve health outcomes, but how to scale proven solutions sustainably. Achieving scale requires deliberate planning, strong partnerships, government ownership and a commitment to embedding innovation within health systems rather than treating it as a stand-alone intervention,” he said.
Echoing a similar position, Director of Health Planning, Research and Statistics at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Ovuaraye John, urged stakeholders to stop repeatedly testing solutions that have already demonstrated results.
“We have reached the point where we should focus on scaling, not piloting. The solutions have proven themselves, and we should work together to scale them across the country so they become part of routine health system strengthening,” he said.
Participants stressed that successful digital transformation would require strong government leadership, policy alignment, sustainable financing, workforce development, interoperability and effective use of health data.
Country Director of the Network for Health Equity and Development, Dr Emmanuel Sokpo, said digital innovation must become an integral part of healthcare delivery rather than operating alongside existing systems.
“Scaling innovation requires more than technology. It requires strong partnerships, government ownership, quality data and sustained collaboration. Proven digital health solutions must become part of routine health system strengthening if we are to improve health outcomes at scale,” he said.
Strategic Technical Adviser at NHED, Dr Jerome Mafeni, added that quality data and interoperability were essential for ensuring digital innovations become embedded within routine health system management.
The discussions also examined the growing role of artificial intelligence and advanced analytics in improving programme performance, disease surveillance, resource allocation and evidence-based decision-making.
Presenting the NaijPro720 platform, Senior Technical Specialist at NASCP, Dr Dike Kachiside, said the digital solution was helping programme managers identify performance gaps and improve service delivery through real-time analysis of routine health data.
“NaijPro720 is helping to transform programme data into actionable intelligence. Rather than simply collecting information, the platform enables programme managers to identify gaps early, analyse programme performance and make evidence-based decisions that improve service delivery at facility, state and national levels,” he said.
The roundtable concluded with recommendations for stronger government ownership of digital health programmes, greater interoperability among health information systems, sustainable financing beyond donor support, improved data governance and privacy, investment in workforce capacity, and stronger collaboration among governments, development partners, academia and the private sector.
Participants expressed optimism that implementing the recommendations would help accelerate the transition from isolated digital health projects to resilient, integrated and nationally owned health systems across Africa.
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