By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The federal government has called for a collective digital investment to drive Africa’s healthcare system.
Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, made this call while delivering a keynote address at the 2025 Africa Health Tech Summit (AHTS) held on Monday at the Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda.
Salako called for an urgent and sustained investment in digital health skills across Africa to ensure a resilient, inclusive, and future-ready healthcare.
He noted that technology alone cannot tackle Africa’s health challenges, but must be spiced with adequate in the training of health workers who can deploy it effectively.
Furthermore, referring to the theme, “The Case for Digital Health Skilling in Africa,” the minister emphasized that “the pathway to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is through a resilient digital technology.
“The case for digital health training in Africa is no longer optional; it is practical, urgent, and transformational,” he said. “We must invest in the digital capacity of our people to achieve Universal Health Coverage and to build resilient health systems that can withstand future shocks.”
Dr. Salako therefore called for stronger collaboration among governments, academia, private sector players, and development partners to develop regional centres of excellence that will drive research, innovation, and capacity building in digital health.
He also urged African countries to standardize and accredit digital health competencies to allow mutual recognition and mobility of skilled professionals across the continent.
Highlighting Nigeria’s efforts, the Minister said that Nigeria’s implemention of a people-centered digital transformation under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, is guided by the Nigeria Digital Health Strategy (2021–2025) and the Nigeria Digital in Health Initiative (NDHI).
According to Salako, 76% of Nigeria’s federal tertiary health institutions currently have varying levels of digitization, ranging from 50–100%, with similar progress being recorded at state and local government levels.
He added that the federal government is providing incentives to accelerate health digitization nationwide, with plans to establish a National Health Information Exchange by 2027.
