Senator Ireti Kingibe has called for stronger domestic health financing and legislative action to tackle Africa’s healthcare deficits and warned that medical innovations will have limited impact unless governments provide the funding and policies needed to expand their reach.
Kingibe, who represents the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the Senate, spoke at the 2026 Gatefield Health Summit in Abuja, themed “Scaling What Works”. The meeting brought together stakeholders to examine how successful health interventions could move beyond isolated projects into systems capable of serving larger populations.
“Let us commit to breaking down the silos between innovation and implementation. Let us direct our capital, our technical expertise and our legislative will towards rigorous, measurable scaling of what works,” Kingibe said.
She called for coordinated investment and legislative commitment to ensure that effective solutions reach more Africans and improve their health outcomes.
Her intervention raises a critical question for Nigeria: how can healthcare programmes survive when donor funding declines, projects end or external priorities change? Domestic financing offers governments greater control over long-term health priorities, but it requires dependable budget allocations, transparent spending and effective oversight.
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AI offers support, not a substitute for doctors
Experts at the summit also highlighted artificial intelligence (AI), digital platforms and data analysis as tools that could strengthen healthcare delivery across Africa.
Shina Arogundade, co-founder of digital healthcare provider MyItura, said AI could analyse trends to anticipate disease outbreaks and climate-related health threats. He stressed the need to validate these systems and integrate them into national public health structures.
“Healthcare is mostly run by the public sector, so government engagement is necessary to scale AI in the health sector,” Arogundade said.
AI-powered systems could help health authorities identify emerging disease patterns, organise medical information and support clinical decisions. However, their effectiveness depends on reliable data, adequate digital infrastructure, trained personnel and safeguards against errors and misuse.
Such technology cannot independently resolve shortages of doctors, nurses, medicines or functioning health facilities. Without these essentials, digital tools risk benefiting only communities with reliable internet access and better-equipped hospitals.
Funding must reach frontline services
The summit also highlighted the time required to train enough doctors to address staffing gaps across sub-Saharan Africa. A report by the Gates Foundation, cited in the source account, noted that expanding the medical workforce would take years, making complementary innovations important while health systems develop their capacity.
For Nigeria, the practical test is whether new funding and technology translate into more accessible treatment, earlier disease detection and better-equipped primary healthcare centres, particularly in underserved communities.
That will require governments to identify sustainable funding sources, assess which interventions deliver measurable results and establish clear standards for the use of AI in medical settings.
Kingibe’s message was that innovation must move beyond promising prototypes. Without consistent financing, legislative support and public-sector commitment, even effective solutions may fail to reach the people who need them most.
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