Health Leaders Demand End To Endless 'Pilot' Projects
Senior government officials, health experts, development partners and technology leaders have called for an urgent shift from fragmented digital health pilot projects to nationally scaled solutions capable of transforming healthcare delivery across Nigeria and Africa
Senior government officials, health experts, development partners and technology leaders have called for an urgent shift from fragmented digital health pilot projects to nationally scaled solutions capable of transforming healthcare deliveryacross Nigeria and Africa. The stakeholders, who spoke at the Pre-Africa Digital Health Summit (ADHS) Abuja Roundtable, warned that despite years of investment and innovation, many promising digital health initiatives continue to falter after the pilot stage due to weak financing, poor integration, inadequate government ownership and limited institutional support. According to a statement signed by the Communications Lead of the Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED), Tessy Maina, on Thursday in Abuja, participants at the event, convened by Vantage Health Technologies in partnership with NHED, agreed that the future of healthcare innovation lies not in creating new pilot schemes but in scaling proven technologies that can strengthen health systems and improve outcomes for millions of Africans. The Director of Health Planning, Research and Statistics at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Ovuoraye John, noted that building on innovations that have already demonstrated results would strengthen decision-making, improve programme performance and ensure that more Nigerians benefit from digital health interventions embedded within the healthcare system. He said: “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. ”Speaking earlier, Paul Bhuhi of Vantage Health Technologies said the debate had moved beyond whether technology could improve healthcare outcomes to how governments and partners could sustainably scale successful innovations across countries and health programmes. “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. ”The Country Director of the Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED), Dr. Emmanuel Sokpo, said digital innovations would only achieve their full potential when integrated into routine healthcare delivery rather than operating as parallel programmes. “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. ”Also speaking, the Strategic Technical Adviser at NHED, Dr. Jerome Mafeni, emphasised the importance of quality data and interoperability, warning that digital tools operating in isolation risk creating inefficiencies rather than improving service delivery. According to him, successful digital transformation depends on ensuring that digital innovations become embedded within routine health system management and are able to communicate seamlessly with national information systems and other healthcare platforms. Presenting the NaijPro720 experience, the Senior Technical Specialist at the National AIDS and STIs Control Programme (NASCP), Dr. Dike Kachiside, said the platform was changing the way programme managers use data to improve service delivery. “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. ”Participants identified stronger government ownership, interoperability among digital health platforms, sustainable financing mechanisms, improved data governance and investment in workforce capacity as critical priorities for accelerating digital health scale-up across Africa. They also called for closer collaboration among governments, development partners, academia, technology providers and the private sector, expressing optimism that a greater focus on implementation at scale would help build more resilient, data-driven and equitable health systems across the continent. Please follow and like us: