The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has enjoined Nigerians to adapt Information Communication Technology (ICT) in healthcare in Nigeria in order to access qualitative healthcare services.
The call was made at the Africa Digital Health Summit (ADHS) 2022, with the theme: Moving from rhetoric to action; leveraging technology to democratise healthcare. The sub-theme was: Health system digitisation: Translating strategies to impact. The event was held at Marriot Hotel, Government Reserved Area (GRA) Ikeja, Lagos.
The commissioner in his remarks said that ICT in healthcare delivery could also boost innovation and financing mechanism, such as health insurance, quality and standards in the healthcare system, and added that a digitised delivery system will bring about prompt service to the populace.
Citing the COVID-19 pandemic as a ready example, Abayomi noted that the Lagos State government was able to contain the spread with the use of ICT at the healthcare facilities in Lagos. He stated that there was the need for all healthcare stakeholders to adapt digital health to ensure universal healthcare coverage for all citizens in Nigeria.
Speaking in the same vein, the chairman, organising committee of the event, Dr. Niyi Osamiluyi, stated that limited access to healthcare brought about by poverty and lack of accountability as well as insurance coverage for the common man were some of the major problems in the health sector across the continent, and envisaged that adapting technology to the way healthcare is delivered would go a long way to removing a greater percentage of these obstacles and create a bluepront for easier and faster access to healthcare across the land.
The Africa Digital Health Summit is an annual event birthed out of the desire to create a platform for innovators, regulators, policy makers and development partners to share knowledge and best practices in digital health around the continent.
