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Digital health stakeholders have called on governments across Africa to move beyond fragmented pilot projects and accelerate the nationwide adoption of proven digital health innovations to strengthen health systems and improve healthcare delivery.
Leading the call, the Director of Health Planning, Research and Statistics at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Ovuoraye John A., said Nigeria has reached a stage where the focus should shift from testing new technologies to scaling solutions that have already demonstrated impact.
“We have reached the point where we should focus on scaling, not piloting. The solutions have proven themselves, and we should work together to scale them across the country so they become part of routine health system strengthening,” John said.
He spoke at the Pre-Africa Digital Health Summit (ADHS) Abuja Roundtable, which brought together senior government officials, development partners, technology leaders, and public health experts to discuss strategies for transitioning from isolated digital health pilots to sustainable, nationally owned programmes.
The roundtable, convened by Vantage Health Technologies, a member of the BroadReach Group, in partnership with the Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED), was held under the theme, “From Pilot to Scale: Shaping the Future of Health Innovation.”
John said expanding proven innovations would strengthen decision-making, improve programme performance, and ensure that more Nigerians benefit from digital health investments.
“By building on what has already been demonstrated, we can strengthen decision-making, improve programme performance and ensure that more Nigerians benefit from these innovations,” he added.
Participants, including representatives from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the National AIDS and STIs Control Programme (NASCP), the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the Country Coordinating Mechanism–Nigeria, the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), KNCV Nigeria, BAO Systems, eHealth Africa, academia, development partners and the private sector, agreed that Africa’s digital health ecosystem must move beyond fragmented pilot initiatives.
They noted that although significant investments have been made in digital health technologies across the continent, many innovations continue to face challenges related to sustainability, financing, interoperability, governance, institutionalisation, and long-term adoption.
Opening the discussions, Paul Bhuhi said the debate has shifted from whether technology can improve healthcare delivery to how successful innovations can be sustainably integrated into national health systems.
“Across Africa, we are seeing unprecedented investment in digital health innovation. The challenge before us is no longer whether technology can improve health outcomes, but how to scale proven solutions sustainably,” he said.
Bhuhi stressed that scaling digital innovations requires deliberate planning, strong partnerships, government ownership, and integration into existing health systems rather than treating technology as a standalone intervention.
Also speaking, Dr. Emmanuel Sokpo said digital innovation would only achieve meaningful impact when embedded in routine healthcare delivery.
“Scaling innovation requires more than technology. It requires strong partnerships, government ownership, quality data, and sustained collaboration. Proven digital health solutions must become part of routine health system strengthening if we are to improve health outcomes at scale,” he said.
In his presentation, Dr. Jerome Mafeni highlighted the importance of quality data, interoperability, and institutional integration to ensure digital innovations support routine health system management instead of operating as parallel systems.
The roundtable also examined the growing use of artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to strengthen disease surveillance, improve resource allocation, enhance programme performance, and support faster evidence-based decision-making.
Presenting the experience of the NaijPro720 digital platform, Dr. Dike Kachiside said the solution has transformed routine programme data into actionable intelligence for health managers.
“NaijPro720 is helping to transform programme data into actionable intelligence. Rather than simply collecting information, the platform enables programme managers to identify gaps early, analyse programme performance and make evidence-based decisions that improve service delivery at facility, state and national levels,” he said.
Participants identified platforms such as AIM250 and NaijPro720 as practical examples of how integrating digital technologies into existing health systems can improve programme management, enhance data visibility, and strengthen implementation outcomes.
The stakeholders unanimously agreed that digital technologies can only deliver maximum value when supported by strong government leadership, sustainable financing, policy alignment, workforce capacity, robust governance, interoperability, and effective data utilisation.
Among the key recommendations adopted were stronger government ownership of digital health programmes, improved interoperability across national health information systems, sustainable financing beyond donor-supported projects, strengthened data governance and privacy, increased investment in workforce development, and deeper collaboration among governments, development partners, academia, technology providers, and the private sector.
Participants expressed optimism that implementing the recommendations would accelerate the development of resilient, data-driven, and responsive health systems across Africa.
They added that the resolutions from the Abuja Roundtable are expected to inform discussions at the forthcoming Africa Digital Health Summit and contribute to ongoing efforts to expand equitable access to quality healthcare while accelerating the adoption of proven digital health innovations across the continent.
