Well being specialists have urged the Nigerian authorities to strengthen home useful resource mobilisation and prioritise safety-based funding as a pathway to constructing a resilient and self-sustaining well being system.
This name was made throughout a hearth chat on the Gatefield Well being Summit 2025, moderated by Kafayat Alawode, Programme Director at Growth Governance Worldwide Seek the advice of (DGI).
The session featured Shola Dele-Olowu, Director of Regional Initiatives at AMP Well being, and Anthony Nwala, Assistant Chief Programme Supply Officer on the Society for Household Well being (SFH), who represented the organisation’s Managing Director, Omokhudu Idogho.
Security-based funding
Talking on the transition from donor dependence to sustainability, Ms Dele-Olowu mentioned Nigeria should shift from exterior support to home financing to safe its well being system’s future.
She described the present international funding decline as a reminder that donor nations will prioritise their residents first throughout crises.
“We can’t proceed to depend upon exterior funding to finance our important companies. The transition shock from donor withdrawal has given option to alternative, and innovation is normally born out of disaster,” she mentioned.
She cited Ghana’s method after the USA Company for Worldwide Growth (USAID) exit, noting that the nation raised taxes on sugar and leveraged its gold sector to fund maternal and youngster well being programmes.
In line with her, Nigeria should deal with this era as a wake-up name to enhance fiscal accountability and reveal environment friendly use of accessible assets.
She additionally highlighted that innovation shouldn’t all the time be about large-scale tasks.
She cited Guyana, a South American nation, the place well being staff now entry malaria remedy pointers by WhatsApp-based AI chatbots, considerably decreasing the price of printing cumbersome manuals.
Ms Dele-Olowu confused that human capability is central to system sustainability, urging long-term funding in well being staff and programme employees moderately than focusing solely on short-term outputs.
She additionally emphasised the significance of course of improvements, small however efficient changes that scale back prices, enhance effectivity, and strengthen well being system resilience.
Intentional home useful resource mobilisation
Talking on home well being financing, Mr Idogho mentioned Nigeria’s well being sector should intentionally mobilise assets internally and use information to information spending and coverage selections.
He famous that the scale-back of donor assist by companies led to SFH established subsidiary organisations to diversify earnings streams and supply technical help to governments at a number of ranges.
“We should be intentional about inside useful resource mobilisation. Every time we reply to a disaster, it ought to turn out to be a follow, not an act of desperation,” he mentioned.
He emphasised the necessity for self-honesty in authorities monetary planning, urging clear and deliberate use of funds.
Mr Idogho additionally highlighted that resilience is dependent upon understanding gaps, analysing information, and channelling assets strategically moderately than following conventional patterns or spending just because it has been achieved that approach earlier than.
Empowering communities for sustainable financing
On neighborhood possession, Mr Idogho mentioned it’s central to well being system resilience.
He cited SFH’s partnerships with transport unions in northern Nigeria to supply emergency transport companies for pregnant girls, which contributed to a discount in maternal mortality.
He additionally referenced initiatives in Delta State, the place Nigerians within the diaspora sponsor indigent households by the state’s Contributory Well being Scheme, serving to to cut back out-of-pocket well being expenditure.
Mr Idogho confused that present neighborhood buildings, together with conventional leaders, native associations, and volunteer well being staff, needs to be leveraged for consciousness creation, well being promotion, and repair supply.
He additional famous that resilience is about folks, not simply programmes or funding, and that communities should be empowered to take possession of well being interventions to make sure long-term sustainability.
Gatefield well being summit 2025
The Gatefield well being summit introduced collectively leaders from authorities, civil society, academia, and the personal sector to debate methods for strengthening well being methods throughout Africa.
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Organised by the Gatefield Affect Basis, the two-day occasion, holding at Nile College, Abuja, from 22 to 23 October 2025, is concentrated on bettering well being resilience by dialogue on persistent illnesses, outbreak preparedness, girls’s well being, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), well being financing, and the One Well being method.
The continued summit is designed to supply a platform for specialists to share experiences, spotlight revolutionary practices, and discover methods to construct sustainable, community-driven well being methods within the face of dwindling exterior funding and evolving public well being challenges.
