Tinubu approves new health technology agency to modernise Nigeria’s healthcare system

President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of the National Health Technology and Data Analytics Office (NHTDAO), a landmark initiative aimed at accelerating the digital transformation of Nigeria’s healthcare system through innovation, data-driven decision-making and improved coordination across the health sector.

The Presidency also announced the appointment of Dr. Obi Adigwe, a respected pharmaceutical researcher and health innovation expert, as the pioneer National Coordinator of the newly created office.

The development was disclosed in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who said the new agency would operate under the Office of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare.

According to the Presidency, the NHTDAO will serve as a central coordinating platform for health technology, digital health systems and data analytics, helping to unify public and private healthcare institutions without taking over the statutory responsibilities of existing agencies.

Rather than replacing institutions already operating within the health sector, the office will strengthen collaboration among federal and state governments, healthcare providers, development partners and regulatory bodies while promoting the adoption of modern digital healthcare solutions nationwide.

The statement explained that the office would harmonise healthcare institutions, establish national interoperability standards and oversee the implementation of the National Digital Health Architecture, which was approved by the National Council on Health in November 2025.

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The initiative is expected to accelerate the deployment of electronic medical records, improve healthcare data management, strengthen disease surveillance systems and support evidence-based policymaking across Nigeria’s health sector.

Government officials believe the new office will also improve emergency response capabilities, facilitate secure information sharing among healthcare institutions and enhance transparency, accountability and efficiency in healthcare delivery.

The Presidency said the creation of the agency aligns with President Tinubu’s commitment to building a secure, technology-driven and data-enabled healthcare system capable of delivering quality medical services to Nigerians under the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The appointment of Dr. Obi Adigwe is expected to provide strong leadership for the initiative, given his extensive experience in pharmaceutical research, digital health innovation and healthcare policy.

Before his appointment, Adigwe served as Director-General of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), where he led several groundbreaking initiatives to strengthen Nigeria’s pharmaceutical and biomedical research capacity.

His achievements include managing a ¥300 million nanotechnology research grant, overseeing an AFREXIMBank-funded project that established Africa’s first Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) Training Facility and coordinating the roadmap that secured an €18 million European Union grant to support Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry.

Adigwe also gained international recognition during the COVID-19 pandemic after leading the world’s first scientific evaluation that challenged claims surrounding the effectiveness of Madagascar’s Covid Organics herbal preparation.

To ensure effective implementation and policy coordination, the Federal Government has constituted a high-level steering committee to oversee the activities of the National Health Technology and Data Analytics Office.

The committee will be co-chaired by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, and the Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Olaniyi Yusuf.

Its membership also includes the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, the Special Adviser to the President on Technology and Digital Economy, the heads of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), as well as six representatives of State Commissioners of Health from Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

The steering committee is expected to provide strategic guidance, monitor implementation and ensure that digital health reforms are effectively integrated across the country’s healthcare ecosystem.

The establishment of the NHTDAO complements ongoing reforms under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, which seeks to strengthen primary healthcare services, improve access to quality medical care, expand emergency health services and modernise healthcare infrastructure across the country.

Health policy experts say the initiative could significantly transform Nigeria’s healthcare system by improving health data management, promoting innovation, strengthening policy coordination and enabling more efficient healthcare delivery nationwide.

The Presidency expressed confidence that the new office would accelerate Nigeria’s transition to a secure, interoperable and data-driven healthcare ecosystem capable of improving health outcomes for millions of citizens.

Tinubu approves new health technology agency to modernise Nigeria’s healthcare system

AI Smartphone App Detects Eye Cancer with Near-Specialist Accuracy, Study Finds

A smartphone-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) application has demonstrated the ability to detect cancers on the surface of the eye with near-specialist accuracy, offering hope for faster diagnosis and improved access to care for patients with potentially sight-threatening and life-threatening conditions.

The application, known as Capture-Tumor, uses advanced deep-learning technology to analyze photographs of the eye taken with a smartphone and identify signs of ocular surface malignancies. Researchers say the innovation could transform early cancer detection by enabling users to perform initial screenings from home before being referred to specialist care.

The findings were published in JAMA Ophthalmology following a non-randomized clinical trial led by researchers at Sun Yat-sen University, China, who evaluated the system’s effectiveness in real-world settings.

According to the researchers, the AI model was trained using more than 12 years of specialist ophthalmic images collected by eye care professionals. The system was initially developed using slit-lamp photographs taken in hospitals before being adapted to work with standard smartphone images captured by patients themselves.

The app includes built-in image-quality assessment tools and provides real-time instructions to help users take suitable photographs. Once captured, images are uploaded to a cloud-based platform where the AI analyzes them and flags suspicious lesions that may require specialist review.

The study involved 614 participants aged between four and 87 years, with a median age of 46. Participants were recruited through television campaigns, social media platforms and online hospital portals. Researchers analyzed 805 eye images from 535 participants included in the final assessment.

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To ensure diagnostic accuracy, images were matched against histopathological findings where available. In cases where tissue diagnosis was not possible, clinical examinations and telemedicine reviews were used to establish final diagnoses.

The primary objective was to determine how effectively the AI system could distinguish between malignant and benign eye surface lesions.

Results showed impressive performance. During controlled testing using specialist clinical images, the model achieved an Area Under the Curve (AUC) score of 0.945, indicating a high level of diagnostic accuracy. When deployed in real-world conditions using smartphone photographs and in-app guidance, performance improved further, reaching an AUC of 0.977.

The system recorded a sensitivity rate of 89.3 percent, meaning it correctly identified most cancer cases, while its specificity reached 95.9 percent, demonstrating a strong ability to rule out non-cancerous conditions.

One of the study’s most significant findings was the app’s ability to identify previously undiagnosed cancers.

The AI platform generated 58 referrals to specialist centers, resulting in the confirmation of 20 malignant cases through histopathological examination. Remarkably, 19 of those cancers had not been previously diagnosed, highlighting the technology’s potential role in detecting disease earlier than traditional referral pathways.

Researchers noted that none of the newly diagnosed patients required removal of the eye or surrounding orbital tissue, suggesting that earlier intervention may have contributed to more favorable treatment outcomes.

The study also found that the app significantly streamlined access to specialist care. Before using the AI system, patients required an average of 3.69 referrals before reaching definitive treatment. Following implementation of the technology, that figure dropped dramatically to just 1.02 referrals, representing a major improvement in efficiency and patient access.

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Experts believe this could reduce delays that often occur when patients move between multiple healthcare providers before receiving an accurate diagnosis.

The researchers further suggested that widespread adoption of smartphone-based screening could substantially increase the number of eye cancer cases detected and treated at specialist centers. However, they cautioned that these projections require additional validation through larger studies.

An accompanying editorial described Capture-Tumor as a pioneering “closed-loop” healthcare model that combines public awareness, AI-assisted screening, specialist triage and targeted referrals within a single platform.

Experts said the study provides an important proof of concept for using AI and mobile technology to decentralize screening for rare diseases, particularly in regions where access to specialist ophthalmologists remains limited.

Eye surface cancers, collectively known as ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) and related malignancies, can be difficult to diagnose in their early stages because symptoms often resemble less serious eye conditions. Delayed diagnosis can lead to vision impairment, extensive surgery and, in severe cases, cancer spread.

The emergence of smartphone-based AI screening tools could therefore play a critical role in reducing diagnostic delays and improving patient outcomes, especially in low-resource settings where specialist care is scarce.

Despite the promising findings, researchers acknowledged several limitations. Most participants were of Chinese origin, meaning further studies are needed to determine how well the technology performs across diverse ethnic and geographic populations. They also noted that older users may face challenges using smartphone-based screening tools and that the study primarily assessed short-term diagnostic outcomes rather than long-term clinical benefits.

The team emphasized that the application is intended to support—not replace—medical professionals. Any suspicious findings identified by the app would still require confirmation through clinical examination and specialist evaluation.

As healthcare systems increasingly adopt AI-powered diagnostic tools, experts say technologies such as Capture-Tumor could help bridge gaps in access to specialist care, improve early cancer detection and potentially save sight and lives through timely intervention.

AI Smartphone App Detects Eye Cancer with Near-Specialist Accuracy, Study Finds

Pharmacists Tackle Fake Drug Menace With New Detection Skills

Pharmacists from the Federal Capital Territory, Niger, and Nasarawa states have intensified efforts to combat the growing menace of counterfeit medicines in Nigeria through a hands-on capacity-building workshop aimed at equipping practitioners with skills to detect and isolate suspected fake drugs before they reach patients. The workshop, titled “Test and Stock for Medicines Against Counterfeiting,” was organised by the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (WAPCP), Abuja Branch, in collaboration with the Bioscientific Research Group of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Biopharmacy, University of Uyo.

The initiative comes at a critical time, as the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 10.5% of all medicines in low- and middle-income countries are substandard or falsified, with the deaths resulting from the use of these products in malaria and childhood pneumonia alone estimated between 105,000 and 285,000 annually. The problem is particularly acute in Nigeria, where a 2022 report by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHDA) suggested that up to 70% of drugs in circulation are substandard or counterfeit. While NAFDAC has contested this figure, stating that between 13% and 15% of medicines are fake, the scale of the problem remains alarming. In a recent operation, NAFDAC seized over 3 billion Naira worth of counterfeit medicines, including 10 million doses of antimalarial drugs that could have endangered over three million lives.

Counterfeit medicines represent a significant threat to public health in Nigeria. Studies have shown that the country faces a severe challenge, with drug counterfeiting accounting for an increasing percentage of the global drug market. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), counterfeit medicines account for more than 10% of the world drug market. Between 2001 and 2005, Nigeria’s drug regulatory agencies reduced the circulation of counterfeit medicines from 40% to 17%, yet the issue continues to remain a major public health and socio-development burden. In 2018, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) destroyed fake foods and drugs worth over $10 million in the country. The market is highly import-dependent, sourcing 70% of its finished products from abroad and relying almost entirely on other countries for active pharmaceutical ingredients for local manufacturing, creating vulnerabilities that counterfeiters exploit.

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Speaking at the event, Prof. Sunday Awofisayo, Professor of Biopharmaceuticals and Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Uyo and principal researcher of the Bioscientific Research Group, said pharmacists must take a more active role in assuring the quality of medicines dispensed to Nigerians. He noted that pharmacists are recognised as drug experts and should be able to assure patients that medicines contain the active ingredients stated on their labels. According to him, counterfeit, falsified, and substandard medicines can lead to treatment failure, prolonged illness, organ damage, and even cancer when harmful substances are substituted for genuine ingredients. “If the quality is not there from the beginning, no matter how good the consultant or specialist is, treatment outcomes will be compromised,” he said. Awofisayo noted that the workshop was designed to refresh knowledge acquired during professional training and provide practical skills in detecting counterfeit medicines through basic laboratory procedures, including colourimetric testing and thin-layer chromatography (TLC) . Research published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice has shown that visual inspection alone can identify many deficiencies in dosage units and packaging information. All four falsified medicines detected in a recent Nigerian study were readily identifiable, primarily from serious spelling errors in labelling and from manufacturer names that could not be verified using internet resources.

Key visual deficiencies observed in counterfeit medicines include non-uniformity of dosage units, where containers have multiple different types of tablets with different embossings and thickness; discolouration of tablets, such as brown discolouration in chloroquine tablets that correlated with API content of only 81.9% compared to 100.6% in white tablets; poorly manufactured tablets with ridges, erosion, cracks, and powder formation indicating physical instability; and incomplete filling of blisters with empty compartments or half tablets, indicating insufficient quality assurance.

Also speaking, the Zonal Coordinator of WAPCP, FCT Zone, Dr. Tijani Mufutau, described counterfeit medicines as a major threat to public health, saying pharmacists have a responsibility to verify the authenticity of medicines before they are supplied to patients. He noted that fake medicines contribute to therapeutic failure, organ damage, death, and increased healthcare costs due to prolonged hospital stays and additional treatments. Workshop lead and immediate past Zonal Coordinator of WAPCP Abuja Zone, Dr. Abubakar Danraka, said the training formed part of efforts by pharmacists to complement existing strategies aimed at reducing the circulation of counterfeit medicines. He explained that the programme focused on empowering pharmacists with practical skills that can be deployed immediately without reliance on expensive laboratory equipment. Danraka noted that the high cost of sophisticated quality assessment equipment had limited medicine testing in many health institutions, adding that the initiative sought to bridge that gap. According to him, strengthening NAFDAC and other relevant institutions through increased funding and support would help scale up such interventions across the country.

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The Global Pharma Health Fund (GPHF)-Minilab is the most widely used screening device for medicine quality surveillance in low-resource settings. The analysis consists of visual inspection of packaging and dosage units, simplified disintegration testing for solid oral dosage forms, and qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis of active pharmaceutical ingredients using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) . Additional training of local personnel significantly improved the results of both TLC analysis and image evaluation. Photographs of visual deficiencies and TLC analysis results have been compiled as teaching materials for future training courses of pharmacy staff and healthcare workers. A recently developed open-source smartphone application named “TLCyzer” enables photography and image analysis of TLC plates for improved quantitative evaluation of medicine quality screening. However, the application increased sensitivity to 62.5% but led to an unacceptably low specificity of 75.2%, highlighting the need for further development.

A study involving 390 pharmacists across Nigeria, published by the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), identified primary challenges in combating fake medicines in the country, including inadequate inspection (90.93% of pharmacists affirmed this as a major challenge), poor cross-border enforcement (90.43%), poor collaboration among regulatory agencies (89.94%), inadequate legislation (88.83%), and online drug commerce (72.68%). While pharmacists demonstrated good knowledge of medicine counterfeiting, gaps were observed in their practices. About one-third (30.7%) indicated their current knowledge and skills were inadequate to detect counterfeit medicines. Age, years of practice, and area of practice significantly influenced detection abilities.

Former National Chairman of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, Dr. Albert Alkali, described falsified medicines as one of the biggest challenges facing the country’s healthcare system. He said patients could suffer severe health complications, including kidney, liver, and heart damage, from consuming counterfeit medicines. Alkali urged Nigerians to obtain medicines only from registered pharmacies and seek professional guidance from pharmacists when purchasing drugs.

Participants at the workshop also called for stronger regulation, stricter enforcement of existing laws, and increased local pharmaceutical manufacturing to reduce dependence on imported medicines and improve quality control. This call aligns with recent efforts by NAFDAC to introduce regulatory tools including the NAFDAC Green Book, an online database allowing confirmation of registered medical products, and the Pharmaceutical Products (Traceability) Regulation 2024, mandating unique identifiers for every drug in circulation. Nigeria is the first country in Africa and the second in the world to deploy this level of pharmaceutical traceability.

Also speaking, Pharm. Rahma Issa, Deputy Head of Jummai Babangida Aliyu Maternity and Neonatal Hospital, Minna, said widespread circulation of counterfeit medicines was undermining treatment outcomes and negatively affecting both household and national economies. She advocated increased support for local drug manufacturing and stronger enforcement measures against offenders. Similarly, the Head of Pharmacy at the National Hospital Abuja, Pharmacist Clara Adesola, said pharmacists attending the workshop would transfer the knowledge acquired to colleagues in their respective institutions to widen the impact of the training. She noted that drug source verification, visual inspection, and the use of NAFDAC registration checks remained important measures for reducing the risk of counterfeit medicines entering health facilities.

The fight against counterfeit medicines has received international attention, with the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) publishing a new curriculum guide in partnership with the WHO to support educators in ensuring that pharmacists are better able to prevent substandard or falsified medicines from reaching patients. These materials were developed with the support of the European Commission and in collaboration with five universities in sub-Saharan Africa, a region particularly vulnerable to counterfeit medicines. Additionally, the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) has launched a nationwide training aimed at equipping early-career scientists with the skills and knowledge to ensure medicine security, strengthen healthcare systems, and combat the proliferation of fake and substandard drugs in the country. The training, part of the World Bank–funded IMPACT Project, targets approximately 50 young scientists from across Nigerian universities.

Participants agreed that strengthening pharmacists’ capacity to identify suspicious medicines before stocking them would significantly reduce the circulation of counterfeit products and improve patient safety across the country. As training programmes expand and detection technologies improve, pharmacists remain at the forefront of protecting Nigeria’s pharmaceutical supply chain and ensuring that patients receive safe, effective, and genuine medicines.

Pharmacists Tackle Fake Drug Menace With New Detection Skills