Healthcare innovation in Nigeria
Healthcare innovation is a vague and widely misconstrued term in Nigeria. The misconception, however, results from decades of endemic corruption in the health sector, including unprofessional attitude among health workers—especially in primary health centres—and high cost of fee-for-service (FFS) medical services, among other anti-development characteristics. Healthcare innovation ecosystem is not properly structured for effective delivery of health care services. Telemedicine is at its lowest level—thanks to the poor telecom network coverage in most parts of Nigeria. Additionally, huge potentials of the social media and mass communication outlets (video, radio and local languages) have not been fully leveraged to create awareness on health innovation in the country. Even teaching hospitals are not fully equipped with beds, drugs, and advanced technology. Generally, the Nigerian health sector is plagued by various vaccine-preventable diseases (such as whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria, measles etc), heart disease, neonatal/maternal deaths, and other forms of treatable cancer. Worse still, Nigeria has some of the best medical doctors and health professionals who are jetting out of the country daily in search of greener pastures overseas where their services are best utilized with equal pay (Komodromos., 2021).
Evidence-based studies show the current condition of healthcare delivery in Nigeria is disheartening—particularly primary care. Although there has been nationwide outcry for infrastructure development, challenges from poor remuneration for health providers, profit-driven administration and poor government funding have lingered for decades while affluent Nigerians—mainly politicians—flock to countries like the UK, U.S. and India for medical treatment. It is arguably true that Nigeria is a developing country. But economic development has been very slow and at the middle of its transition stage. Thus, the healthcare innovative ecosystem lacks strong features of development such as a culture of innovation, a stable political system, robust and realistic economic plan, good corporate governance etc. Basically, healthcare innovation has been unable to tackle health issues in Nigeria for these reasons and more (Abimbola., 2012).
Healthcare innovation ecosystem in Nigeria
To some extent, Nigeria’s healthcare innovation ecosystem has leveraged increased attention on the United Nations’ SDGs and, previously, the millennium development goals. Partnership with foreign investors, donor agencies, NGOs and corporate organizations is increasingly producing incredible results in poverty reduction, equitable distribution of resources, and maternal/child mortality rates. But innovation-driven response to key health issues such as malaria, which kills more than HIV/AIDS in Nigeria underscores the urgent need for responsive health management strategies. Thus, it appears that health innovation in Nigeria has poorly communicated objectives different from identifying, examining and scaling innovations that address cost of care, access limitations, and/or quality of health services across the country (Obansa & Orimisan., 2013).
Figure 1: Nigerian Health Innovation Ecosystem
Source: Bhatia et al (2020)
The problem is: stakeholders in the Nigerian healthcare innovation ecosystem are yet to bridge the gap between innovation theories and practice by integrating efforts in Telehealth. For example, overall investment in R&D is low, resources are unevenly spread across geographical zones and the three tiers of government, and only few indigenous private-sector innovators have received government sponsorship to showcase their inventions. The shaky health sector shows lack of coordination in the areas of Telemedicine, internet-based health education, EHRs, remote monitoring systems etc. Nigeria also lacks enabling policies that motivate and empower entrepreneurs, and this is an obstacle to rebuilding a vibrant health sector in desperate need for creative inputs (Mayoka et al., 2012).
Innovation insights in Nigeria
The increasing number of healthcare entrepreneurs in Nigeria shows there are potentials who can exploit advancements in science and technology to transform the underperforming healthcare innovation ecosystem. One enabling factor is the quick rise in the number of internet users. As of 2020, there were about 92 million internet users—a scenario which has favoured establishment of numerous digital health start-ups and tech hubs. Another inspiring factor is the boom in financial investments from indigenous banks, global institutions, and social capital development agencies such as Co-Creation Hub. Facebook recently joined the league of companies exploring tech hubs in Nigeria. The social media giant announced plans to launch a hub in Nigeria and the World Bank earmarked $3 million for similar project (Cho et al., 2009).
The growing interest in Nigerian tech hubs show there is money in health technology, and this reality has spurred healthcare innovators to action. For example, Nigerian entrepreneurs Michael Osahon founded Meditell (a user-friendly app which reminds care users when to take their medications and schedules meeting between health providers and care patients); Vivian Nwakah developed Medsaf (an app for identifying fake drugs, and quality medicines at fair prices); Olaniyi Ralph developed GenRx to discover wrong drug combinations and overdose prescriptions, as well as alert pharmacists of drugs nearing expiration dates etc. This shows that the Nigerian health innovation marketplace is gaining momentum, and to maximise the opportunity, private sector-led development initiatives such as medical tourism has been cited as a strategy to boost the health sector.