The Federal Government has unveiled its ambitious plans to usher in a new era of healthcare delivery by digitising key processes, aiming to enhance the timeliness and quality of care provided to patients across the nation.
Under this transformative initiative, national electronic medical records will undergo digitisation, fostering seamless synchronization of patient information across primary healthcare (PHC) centers, secondary, and tertiary healthcare facilities.
The government emphasised the creation of a unified electromedical platform that promises to facilitate easy access to critical data, medical history, continuity of care, and ultimately reduce the overall cost of healthcare services.
During a media briefing held in Abuja, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s renewed mandate, pledging to restore transparency, accountability, and responsibility within the healthcare governance system.
Professor Pate asserted that while the government plans to increase investments in the healthcare sector and ensure judicious resource utilization, the paramount focus will always be on the patient. He emphasized the importance of treating patients with care, compassion, and respect.
Moreover, he disclosed that the government has initiated discussions with healthcare unions through the Ministries of Health and Labor, with the aim of resolving their grievances, meeting their demands reasonably, and ultimately putting an end to recurrent strikes and industrial discord.
Professor Pate stated, “We are fortunate to have more than 400,000 healthcare professionals of diverse backgrounds in our country. Each of them is a selfless individual working under challenging circumstances to improve the nation’s health.
“Despite the numerous challenges they face, their intrinsic motivation has yielded positive results for our people. We must acknowledge their efforts and recognize that there is still much more we can achieve in healthcare.”
Addressing the issue of strikes, he acknowledged the profound impact of healthcare workers’ strikes and the erosion of trust between various stakeholders that has occurred over many years and administrations. The government, in collaboration with the Labor Ministry, has engaged with at least four professional associations in constructive discussions to rebuild trust and resolve outstanding issues.
Professor Pate emphasized the importance of reducing medical tourism and unlocking the healthcare value chain. He highlighted the potential to mobilize private capital to invest in healthcare infrastructure and human resources, enabling Nigerians to access a wider range of healthcare services within the country.
He noted, “We want to leverage our human capital, private sector investments, and innovation to offer services that people can utilize domestically and attract medical tourism to our nation.”
With approximately 400,000 healthcare workers, including community health workers, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, physicians, laboratory scientists, technicians, and auxiliaries, there remains a shortage of healthcare personnel relative to the population. Professor Pate stressed the need to make healthcare workers’ lives easier while concurrently expanding training and development opportunities.
In his remarks, Dr. Tunji Alausa, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, unveiled plans to establish a dedicated research fund focused on medical and health-related research.
He emphasized the government’s commitment to enhancing the healthcare system’s digitalization, including the implementation of a national electronic medical record platform that will unite primary healthcare centers and hospitals.
“Our research institutions will undergo a transformation to encourage collaborative efforts, unleashing the full potential of clinical, translational, and basic research.
“Increased investment in research will pave the way for self-reliance in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and policy formulation, based on locally generated knowledge.”