The Nigerian government announced a new telehealth platform called NigComHealth to improve quality healthcare delivery and reduce medical tourism. Conceived by Nigeria Communications Satellite Ltd (NigComSat), the virtual hospital will cater to the healthcare needs of all citizens regardless of location.
Speaking at the program’s launch, Dr. Isa Pantami – minister of communications and digital economy – shared, “NigComHealth is a significant milestone in our efforts to improve the quality of life of all Nigerians. This platform will enable us to harness the benefits of technology and access a broader range of doctors and medical experts to deliver quality healthcare services, thereby ensuring that every Nigerian can access the care they need when they need it.”
Tagged “Africa’s first digital healthcare platform” by James Christoff – Canada’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, he believes NigComHealth will transform the country’s healthcare infrastructure. He adds, “The technology has been developed with the vision and strategic objective of having over 80 Federal and state-owned government hospitals coexist on the platform.”
The platform, a collaboration with ETHNOMET and SAWTRAX, will comprise features like a doctor’s web and mobile app, a patient’s app, ePharmacy integration, eLaboratory integration, a broadband bundle for complete healthcare automation, etc. The program will cover 1.7 million public sector workers and their families. To begin, interested citizens should visit NigComHealth’s website to register. Registrants will get a reminder about the app’s launch.
Read also: Global Healthcare Funding Hits Record $31.6Bn in Q1 as COVID-19 Continues to Drive Innovation
An ambitious attempt to curb medical tourism
The release of a virtual healthcare platform demonstrates the nation’s intentions to leverage digital transformation for massive effective development. Citizens can speak with physicians virtually and ask pressing questions without visiting the hospital or considering travelling abroad. This interesting use case is expected to lessen pressure on health facilities while bolstering the country’s patient care capabilities.
With internet-based offerings comes the fear of those without smartphones losing out on the potential benefits. Fortunately, Tukur Lawal – MD of NIGCOMSAT Limited – says the platform will be accessible to everyone, even those with feature phones.
“And as we roll it out we will give more details on how people can register, how they can subscribe. It will be present in all the 774 local governments in Nigeria and it’s going to cost less and reduce medical trips abroad for medical check up,” he explains.
Will medical tourism end soon?
It’s common for Nigerian citizens and government officials to travel abroad for basic needs like a checkup and serious matters like a kidney transplant. It’s believed that if the primary and tertiary levels hospitals worked properly, nobody would leave their country for better care elsewhere.
Access to healthcare in Nigeria, like many developing nations, is limited. Poor budgetary allocations have compounded the health sector’s woes. A 2022 study by Dataphyte found an average of 17 hospitals to 100,000 Nigerians, a ratio that further emphasizes the insufficient supply of patient care.
In January this year, the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) claimed N664 billion is spent on medical tourism yearly. The body also blamed the political class for the declining healthcare quality, claiming things would improve if the sector got a larger budget share. The pandemic exposed the ugly state of Nigeria’s healthcare system, prompting private sector players and philanthropists to support it with donations.
Today resident doctors in Nigeria embarked on a warning strike, citing poor healthcare infrastructure as a major reason. The issue of underfunding has also played a major role in the increased migration of medical practitioners overseas in search of better pay and work conditions.
To curb this trend, a bill seeking to withhold a full license from fresh medical graduates unless they practice for five years in the country passed the second reading in the House of Representatives. If adopted, it’ll ensure Nigeria retains its talent for a few years, but does it give the health sector the makeover it desperately needs?
A great way to discourage medical tourism would be to mandate public officeholders to continuously use any of the nation’s health facilities and not just for a photo op. As one of the country’s vital components, the health sector deserves better budgetary allocations. Hospitals deserve state-of-the-art equipment too.
Questions arising
Releasing a telehealth platform indicates that Nigeria is in touch with technology, but can it discourage frequent trips for treatment and patient checks abroad? Certainly not. While the app is yet to be made available for download, it would be interesting to see the plan to get people without access to internet or high-end mobile devices to get access to the platform.
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