Stakeholders urge sustainable digital health solutions across Africa

By Ojoma Akor

Stakeholders in digital health have called for an urgent shift from isolated digital health pilot projects to nationally scaled, sustainable solutions capable of transforming health systems and improving health outcomes across Nigeria and Africa.

Senior government officials, development partners, technology leaders, implementing organizations, researchers, and public health experts made the call at the Pre-Africa Digital Health Summit (ADHS) Abuja Roundtable. It was convened by Vantage Health Technologies, part of the BroadReach Group, in partnership with the Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED), ahead of the Africa Digital Health Summit.

The engagement aimed to generate practical insights and recommendations to inform discussions at the upcoming summit and support efforts to accelerate the scale of proven digital health innovations across the continent.

Themed, ” From Pilot to Scale: Shaping the Future of Health Innovation,” the high-level dialogue brought together senior representatives from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the National AIDS and STIs Control Program (NASCP), the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Country Coordinating Mechanism – Nigeria, the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), KNCV Nigeria, BAO Systems, eHealth Africa, and development partners, academia, implementing organizations, and the private sector.

The discussions were grounded in practical implementation experiences from digital platforms, including AIM250 and NaijPro720, demonstrating how data-driven innovations are already strengthening program performance, improving decision-making, and supporting health system management across Nigeria.

As countries increasingly invest in artificial intelligence, digital platforms, advanced analytics,  and data-driven health systems, stakeholders stressed that the next phase of digital transformation must focus less on developing new technologies and more on scaling proven solutions that deliver measurable impact.

Paul Bhuhi of Vantage Health Technologies said the conversation has shifted beyond whether digital innovation can improve health outcomes to how innovations can be successfully and sustainably scaled.

He said, “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 sustainably scale proven solutions. Achieving scale requires deliberate planning, strong partnerships, government ownership, and a commitment to embedding innovation within health systems rather than treating it as a stand-alone intervention.”

Dr. Ernest Darkoh, Co-founder of BroadReach Group and Vantage Health Technologies, said Africa’s greatest challenge is no longer innovation itself, but achieving sustainable scale.

“Africa does not have an innovation problem; it has a scale problem. We have demonstrated that digital technologies and artificial intelligence can transform health systems, but the lasting impact depends on moving beyond isolated pilots to sustainable, nationally owned implementation. That requires honest conversations, stronger partnerships, and a shared commitment to doing things differently, “he added.

A central message emerging from the discussions was the need to rethink the role of the pilot programs. Participants agreed that pilot programs are intended to test assumptions, generate evidence for implementation, validate innovative approaches, and build readiness for broader adoption. However, they cautioned that the successful completion of a pilot does not automatically guarantee successful national implementation.

Participants also observed that many promising digital health innovations struggle to achieve sustainable scale, not because the technology is ineffective, but because planning for scale often begins only after the pilot is complete.

Also, Dr. Ovuoraye John A., Director of the Department of Health Planning, Research and Statistics, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, urged stakeholders to shift attention from repeatedly piloting proven innovations 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 the routine health system strengthening. By building on what has already been demonstrated, we can strengthen decision-making, improve program performance, and ensure that more Nigerians benefit from these innovations,” he said.

The stakeholders agreed that the true measure of innovation is not the number of pilots completed, but the number of proven solutions that become institutionalized within routine health systems and improve health outcomes at scale.

Technology Must Strengthen Health Systems

While digital technologies continue to evolve rapidly, the stakeholders also agreed that technology alone does not transform health systems. Sustainable digital transformation requires strategic leadership, strong institutions, quality data, effective change management, workforce adoption, and collaboration across government, development partners, implementers, and technology providers.

Dr. Emmanuel Sokpo, Country Director of the Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED), said the discussions reaffirmed that digital innovation must always strengthen health systems rather than operate alongside them.

He said, “This roundtable reaffirmed that scaling innovation requires more than technology. It requires strong partnerships, government ownership, quality data, and sustained collaboration. The commitment demonstrated by stakeholders today gives us confidence that proven digital health solutions can move beyond successful pilots to become part of the routine health system strengthening, ultimately improving health outcomes for millions of Nigerians.”

They also stressed that successful digital transformation depends on integrating innovations within existing national systems rather than creating fragmented or parallel platforms.

Speaking on the broader vision for digital transformation, Dr. Jerome Mafeni, the Technical Adviser at NHED, emphasized that technology must ultimately enable better decisions and stronger program performance.

He said, “Digital transformation is not simply about deploying new technologies. It is about enabling health workers and decision-makers to use quality data and timely insights to improve program performance. As we scale innovation, interoperability, sustainability, and country ownership must remain at the center of our approach.”

The discussions showed that interoperability, governance, responsible data use, and institutional ownership are essential to ensuring that digital investments continue to deliver value long after external project funding has ended.

Demonstrating What Works

Policy discussions were reinforced by practical implementation experiences showing how digital innovations are already improving program performance, strengthening accountability, and enabling evidence-based decision-making in Nigeria’s health sector.

Presenting the experience of NaijPro720, Dr. Dike Kachiside, Senior Technical Specialist, PMTCT, at the National AIDS and STIs Control Program (NASCP), described how the platform is helping program managers make better use of routine program data.

“NaijPro720 is helping to transform program data into actionable intelligence. Rather than simply collecting information, the platform enables program managers to identify gaps early, analyze program performance, and make evidence-based decisions that improve service delivery at the facility, state, and national levels,” he stated.

Sharing KNCV Nigeria’s experience, Mercy Chukwu, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, highlighted the practical benefits the platform has delivered.

“Since implementing AIM250, we have significantly improved visibility into program implementation across our facilities. The platform has strengthened routine monitoring, enabled quicker follow-up, and supported more timely, data-driven decision-making. It demonstrates how digital innovation can improve program management and ultimately contribute to better health outcomes,” she said.

The implementation experiences presented during the roundtable reinforced a common conclusion: Digital innovations deliver the greatest value when they are integrated into routine program implementation, supported by leadership, embraced by users, and institutionalized within national health systems.

Key Recommendations Emerging from the Roundtable

The health experts identified several priority actions for accelerating digital health scale-up across Nigeria and Africa:

• Strengthen government leadership and country ownership of digital health programs.
• Design and budget for scale from the earliest stages of innovation.
• Promote interoperability and integration across digital health platforms and national information systems.
• Strengthen governance, data quality, privacy, security, and the responsible use of artificial intelligence.
• Invest in change management, workforce capacity, and institutional readiness.
• Develop sustainable financing models that move successful innovations beyond donor-supported pilot projects.
• Foster stronger collaboration among governments, development partners, implementing organizations, academia, technology providers, and the private sector.
• Prioritize innovations that demonstrate measurable improvements in program performance and population health outcomes.
• Adapt, institutionalize, and replicate proven digital health solutions across the country and the continent.

The stakeholders concluded the roundtable with a shared commitment to strengthen collaboration, accelerate country-led digital transformation, and scale proven innovations to improve program performance and health outcomes. Many expressed optimism that the dialogue would inform discussions at the forthcoming Africa Digital Health Summit and catalyze broader action across the continent.