The Federal Government has announced a comprehensive digital transformation of Nigeria’s healthcare system as part of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, made the disclosure on Monday in Abuja during a national stakeholders’ meeting of the Nigeria Digital in Health Initiative (NDHI).
Describing the initiative as a “decisive moment”, Salako said it aims to place data and technology at the heart of healthcare reform.
The NDHI launched in March 2024 is designed to unify the country’s digital health ecosystem by establishing a modular, open, and interoperable network of digital health services.
Salako noted that the objective is to overhaul Nigeria’s fragmented healthcare data infrastructure.
“For decades, our health system has suffered from disjointed data collection, poor system interoperability, and inefficient service delivery. Today, we stand at a critical turning point,” he said.
He explained that the digital transformation would allow for real-time disease outbreak tracking, streamlined financing, improved immunisation coverage, and the empowerment of innovators to develop healthcare apps that enhance service delivery and generate employment.
“Digital tools are no longer a luxury they are essential for both frontline health workers and policymakers,” he said, emphasising the need for integrating the private sector, which accounts for 60 per cent of healthcare delivery, into the national health data architecture.
Salako said the NDHI is built upon three core pillars:
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Interoperable Digital Health Services Network – comprising modular, open, and connected digital solutions;
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Health Claims Exchange (HCX) – designed to curb fraud and improve the efficiency of health spending through real-time claims data;
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Health Information Exchange (HIE) – enabling seamless and secure data sharing across health facilities, states, and both public and private systems.
These components, he explained, will power a new national health data infrastructure that supports clinical decision-making, public health surveillance, resource allocation, and start-up innovation.
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He called on state health commissioners and digital health focal points to commit to clear timelines and actionable steps, stressing the importance of coordination across all levels of government.
“A woman giving birth in a rural community in Yobe will have her medical records accessible to referral centres nationwide without the need for paper folders. This is the future we are creating,” he said.
Endorsed by the National Council on Health in November 2024, the NDHI marks a shift from isolated pilot projects to system-wide transformation.
Salako underscored that the NDHI is a national not merely federal initiative, and urged stakeholders across government, civil society, and the private sector to assume collective ownership.
“We must move from vision to implementation. Let this gathering be remembered not just as a meeting, but as the launchpad for building a smarter, stronger, and more inclusive health system for all Nigerians,” he concluded.
