Stakeholders in the Nigerian healthcare sector have called for more partnership among different key players within and outside the sector to advance healthcare delivery in the country.
The experts who gathered at the 3rd edition of the Lagos Health Summit said that improving the country’s healthcare indices is not something that can be done in isolation. The third edition of the Lagos Health Summit was supported by Iwosan Lagoon Hospital, Cassava, Total Health Trust Limited, Lancet Laboratories, Bora Communications, Tech Cabal and HiImpact TV.
Speaking at the conference, the Executive Director, Lagos Health Summit, Habeeb Moshood, said that improving healthcare outcomes in Nigeria goes beyond what can be addressed from a healthcare provider point of view. “It is essential to understand the role of other sectors such as transportation, power, agriculture among others.
For instance, transportation is important in terms of emergency while agriculture is crucial in addressing malnutrition and power in running healthcare facilities. “So we are advocating a multi-sectoral approach to improve healthcare delivery. We understand that there will be little challenges but when the goal of advancing healthcare delivery in the country is collectively shared, then all obstacles can be addressed.”
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Moshood hinted that the first edition of the summit focused on conversations around navigating the future of healthcare with emphasis on the role of insurance in optimizing healthcare delivery, “while last year focused on strengthening healthcare with technology.”
Corroborating his views, Chief Operating Officer, Iwosan Investments Limited, Dr. Idowu Adebiyi said that there is strength in numbers and no single person has all the skills or technology to achieve desired results. “For instance, it’s either your partner for the purpose of finance, training, purchase of modern equipment or even for patients that you need to see.
So it is difficult to run away from partnerships. What you just need to do while considering partnerships is to keep the patient at the front of your mind. In his key note address, Global Growth Lead Field Intelligence, Peter Bunor said that the fastest way to achieve a collective goal is to work together, “different groups have different expertise and areas of specialization, so finding and encouraging people to work together is the fastest way we can achieve our collective goal in a way that it benefits all.
“Imagine a scenario where we are all trying to solve similar problems and everybody is trying to build solutions. Whereas, if people specialize and focus on things they are good at then we will have better outcomes. “A lot of people want to own everything to themselves and that is probably because they have not found credible people to partner with, people that will come to the table with good intentions.
“So it is fear of whether the partner share the same vision that makes some people skeptical about partnership. In coming together, you need to figure out what you are trying to achieve, and how it benefits all the players. When all the parties can see how it benefits one another, it will make it easier to engage and collaborate.”
On her part, Chief Executive Officer of Babymigo, Mrs. Kemi Adeloye who spoke during a panel session tagged; “Adopting Collaborative Alliance in Improving Maternal and Child Healthcare” said that “technology will be instrumental to improving maternal and child health outcomes in Africa in the next decade.”
She added that, “in addition to leveraging technology, there is also a need to support digital activities with offline activations including community outreaches.” She also mentioned that “a combination of private-public and private-private partnerships are necessary to provide unique accessible healthcare to mothers and children.”
Without forgetting the need for aggressive awareness and enlightenment of mothers on all levels to reduce maternal and newborn mortality.
