Protocol
- It is a great honour to join you today at the 2025 HIMSS Eurasia HealthTech Conference and exhibition here in the historic city of Antalya. I extend my profound gratitude to our hosts, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Turkey and the HIMSS Eurasia team for the hospitality extended to me and my team since our arrival. I must specially commend the Turkish Ministry of Health and the steering committee of the conference for bringing global leaders together to advance a shared vision for a digitally enabled health future.
- This year’s program speaks to the immense transformation that are taking place in global health systems. From digital hospitals and smart healthcare facilities, healthcare robotics, AI, genomic technology and computer vision, there is a strong movement to sthrenghten public health through data-driven innovation. These are themes that aligns strongly with my country’s healthcare strategic priorities as captured in the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Innitiative.
- The global health landscape is shifting rapidly. Populations are growing, diseases are evolving, and expectations for accessible, patient-centered, personalised, high-quality care are rising. Digital transformation of healthcare delivery systems is therefore no longer optional; it is essential, and Nigeria is fully embracing this imperative.
- Under the leadership of the president of my country, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, the government of Nigeria is driving a healthcare agenda focused at building a resilient, technology-enabled, and people-centered health system anchored on 4 pillars of better governance, quality service delivery, unlocking healthcare value chain and health security. Our Health Sector Strategic Development Plan has placed digital health at its core in order to strengthen service delivery anchored on primary care, transform public health surveillance, and enable integration across our health system.
- Nigeria is investing in interoperable systems, building a strong health data governance framework, and supporting innovations that expand access, particularly for rural and underserved communities. We are also strengthening partnerships with the private sector, start-ups, and international collaborators, recognizing that healthcare transformation requires collective effort.
- Through the Nigeria Digital in Health Initiative (NDHI), we are developing our National Digital Health Architecture (NDHA) as a unified blueprint that will end the era of fragmentation and establishes clear, sustainable “rules of the road” for all partners within Nigeria’s digital health ecosystem. We are also building the foundational “digital highways” like the Health Information Exchange with shared health record, and national health registries which will provide a single source of truth for identity, service delivery points, and workforce information across the sector. This is why this platform of HIMSS Eurasia Health Tech Conference and Exhibition is important to us in order to connect to global experts, investors and funding resources to advance our health tech agenda.
- For Nigeria therefore, this conference is more than an event; it is a catalyst; a catalyst for strengthening bilateral partnerships, for exploring scalable innovations, and for building bridges between Nigeria, Africa, Eurasia, and the global health community. I am pleased to see my brother African nations strongly represented at this program, demonstrating our shared commitment to leapfrogging legacy systems and embracing innovation.
- As we collectively navigate this new era, where AI augments medical practice, where robotics is transforming surgery, and where health data drives policy, we must ensure that equity remains our compass. Technology must serve people, digital tools must close gaps, not widen them, and our innovations must be sustainable, secure, and accessible to all. No doubt AI and other tech innovation are transformaing healthcare delivery, but for us in Nigeria, Africa and other developing countries, affordability, context specificity and respect for national data sovereignty must be factored.
- Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, our world is connected and so is our health. Together, through partnerships such as this, we can build a healthier, more resilient, and more inclusive world. Let us therefore work together and deploy digital technology tools to “promote healthy lives and well being for everyone, everywhere and at all ages”.
- Once again, on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I thank our hosts and wish all participants an educative, engaging and exciting conference.
- Thank you for your kind attention.
