Nigeria's ambitious digital health transformation faces significant obstacles due to inadequate infrastructure and systemic challenges, according to findings from a major health summit held in November 2025.
Key Challenges Identified
Participants at the Sixth Annual Summit of the Legislative Network on Universal Health Coverage highlighted multiple barriers slowing the country's healthcare digitalization. Limited public digital infrastructure, unreliable power supply, and weak data systems threaten both public safety and national sovereignty.
The summit communique revealed that poor interoperability between digital health platforms and fragmented development approaches among technology creators are exacerbating coherence problems in the health sector. Additional concerns include data reliability issues stemming from inadequate data tools, lack of digital data capture capabilities, and significant capacity gaps among healthcare workers.
Digital Exclusion Concerns
High levels of digital illiteracy and exclusion, worsened by gender and socioeconomic disparities, are limiting vulnerable Nigerians' participation in digital health services. Summit participants emphasized that user interfaces and experiences must be designed to encourage maximum participation across all segments of society.
In her opening remarks, Senator Ipalibo Banigo, Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, stressed that achieving Universal Health Coverage requires resilient systems supported by legislative action, collaboration, and sustainable financing. She advocated for intersectoral partnerships and engagement with civil society and academia to ensure institutional accountability and health equity.
Legislative Commitments and Solutions
Representing Senate President, Deputy Senate President Senator Barau Jibrin reiterated that "the health of a nation is the truest measure of its wealth." He pledged the 10th National Assembly's commitment to placing healthcare at the center of its legislative agenda.
Key commitments include ensuring the Basic Health Care Provision Fund reaches all communities, promoting laws to boost local pharmaceutical production, and integrating primary health centers with tertiary institutions. Senator Jibrin underscored that health security equals national security and proposed that every health facility should serve as a data collection hub for informed policymaking.
The summit also spotlighted the current assembly's achievements in strengthening legislative networks, optimizing legal frameworks for public health emergencies, and sustaining advocacy for increased health financing.
Broader Health Sector Challenges
Participants noted persistent challenges in Nigeria's health sector, including rising chronic diseases, insufficient release of allocated funds, health worker migration, climate change impacts, growing sedentary lifestyles, and imbalances in healthcare system inputs.
Speakers acknowledged digital innovation's critical role in addressing long-standing health sector challenges and distributing CommonHealth innovation. Discussions focused on healthcare digitization's potential to improve access, accelerate research, enhance care quality, and refine financing mechanisms.
The summit explored interconnections between digital health and health financing, climate, and energy sustainability, noting that appropriated but unreleased funds hinder Universal Health Coverage progress.
Recommendations and Way Forward
Climate resilience was identified as a priority investment to protect community health, potentially reversing up to 21% of disease burdens attributed to climate change. The communique emphasized that private sector participation is crucial for expanding digital health services, recommending integration of private clinics, laboratories, and diagnostic centers into national health information systems.
Essential recommendations include:
- Proper health sector oversight to ensure effective stewardship of scarce resources
- Phased solarization by federal government and subsidized tariffs for sustainable energy in health facilities
- Policies to streamline client journeys within Nigeria's health system from primary to tertiary levels
- Leveraging ongoing constitutional review for transformative healthcare financing policies
Participants urged legislators to adopt open-door policies to accelerate policymaking and feedback on data governance, financing, and sustainability initiatives. They recommended tying digitalization efforts to professional value addition for health workers through promotional certifications.
Additional resolutions called for laws enabling local production to reduce import dependence and medical tourism, while suggesting legislators adopt facilities and vulnerable constituents as a sustainable approach to constituency empowerment.
The summit, held on November 20, 2025, concluded that addressing these multifaceted challenges requires coordinated efforts across government, private sector, and civil society to realize Nigeria's digital health revolution potential.
