By Fatima Saka
The Federal Government has moved to strengthen coordination and integration of Nigeria’s digital health systems, with Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, stressing the need to harness technology and data analytics to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes.
Pate stated this on Thursday in Abuja as the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare inaugurated the Steering Committee of the National Health Technology and Data Analytics Office (NHTDAO), a new mechanism approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to accelerate digital transformation in the health sector.
Speaking on behalf of the co-chairs, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said the initiative was expected to strengthen coordination, standardisation and integration of health technology and data systems across the country.
Salako, who spoke on behalf of the co-chairmen of the committee, said the NHTDAO would complement, rather than replace, the responsibilities of existing departments, agencies, programmes and initiatives within the health sector.
He said the office would coordinate implementation of Nigeria’s approved digital health architecture, which had already been endorsed by the National Council on Health, to move digital health from policy and documentation to practical implementation and measurable impact.
According to him, digital health remains a key enabler of the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII), making deeper penetration of digital technologies essential to the success of ongoing health sector reforms.
Salako identified fragmentation among electronic medical record systems deployed in health facilities as a major challenge, noting that some systems were not interconnected or adequately standardised.
He therefore called for the establishment and enforcement of minimum standards to ensure that digital solutions adopted by health facilities meet nationally agreed requirements and can effectively communicate with one another.
He urged members of the Steering Committee and other stakeholders, particularly the private sector, to work collaboratively with the NHTDAO to build a stronger digital health ecosystem.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Daju Kachollom S. mni, said data analytics must go beyond generating routine reports to helping government anticipate health challenges, identify inequalities, allocate resources more intelligently, measure performance and improve health outcomes.
She called for an inclusive digital transformation that would reduce rather than deepen existing inequalities, especially between urban and rural communities and other underserved populations.
Kachollom also identified interoperability, cybersecurity, data protection, ethical use of artificial intelligence, data governance and patient confidentiality as critical areas requiring attention as digitalisation expands across the health sector.
She said the ultimate objective was to establish a health information and technology ecosystem capable of working seamlessly across institutional boundaries and contributing to a modern, resilient and people-centred health system.
Also speaking, Mr Olaniyi Yusuf, who inaugurated the Steering Committee on behalf of the co-chairmen, expressed the hope that the NHTDAO would develop guidelines to promote interoperability, adoption and scaling of digital health solutions, while creating opportunities for increased private-sector investment.
Yusuf assured that the private sector was ready to partner with government and mobilise businesses to support and participate in the implementation of the national digital health initiative.
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Members of the committee include Kachollom; Director, Health Planning, Research and Statistics, Dr John Ovuoreye; Ekiti State Commissioner for Health, Dr Oyebanji Filani; Director-General, National Health Insurance Authority, Dr Kelechi Ohiri; National Coordinator, SWAp Office, Dr Muntaqa Umar-Sadiq; Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Health, Dr Ekem Emmanuel James; Dr Haruna Buhari; National Coordinator, PVAC, Dr Abdul Mukhtar; and Yobe State Commissioner for Health, Dr Mohammad Lawal Gana.
Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako and Mr Olaniyi Yusuf serve as co-chairmen of the committee.
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