SPEECH BY DR. IZIAQ ADEKUNLE SALAKO, MINISTER OF STATE FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL WELFARE DELIVERED AT THE 44TH SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH RECORD AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT PRACTIONERS OF NIGERIA HELD ON NOVEMBER 25TH, 2025 AT THE POWA SECRETARIAT, ABUJA.

THEME: “Strengthening Nigeria’s Healthcare System Through Innovation and Technology in Health Information Management”

PROTOCOLS

2. It gives me great honour to stand before you today at this 44th Annual General Meeting and National Scientific Conference of the Association of Health Records and Information Management Practitioners of Nigeria tagged the “Abuja Renewal Conference 2025.” Let me begin by congratulating the leadership and members of AHRIMPN for sustaining this important professional tradition. On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. I commend your consistency and dedication in advancing the field of Health Information Management (HIM) in our dear country.
3. The theme for this year’s gathering “Strengthening Nigeria’s Healthcare System through Innovation and Technology in Health Information Management” is particularly timely in the current era where data and digital innovation is profoundly defining healthcare delivery. No health system can be optimally impactful without reliable information and efficient data management for evidence based decision making which has become increasingly rested on the application of technology.
4. Health data; the lifeblood of any functional health system informs planning, guides policy, drives research, measures performance, and enables accountability. In all of these, the Health Information Management professional are centrally placed as the custodian of health data and the bridge between care delivery, administration, and research.
5. Over the years, Health Information Management has been established not as a peripheral role but a core component of the healthcare team. Whether as clinician, administrator or policymaker we all rely on the accuracy, timeliness, and integrity of the information produced and managed by HIM professionals. From performance measurement and health auditing to monitoring and evaluation, research, and quality assurance, the contribution of HIM practitioners is central to quality healthcare delivery. It is for this reason that the Federal Ministry of Health remains committed to ensuring that HIM professionals are adequately included in the scheme of things both within the Ministry and across healthcare institutions nationwide.
6. The Federal Government, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, is deeply committed to the renewal and transformation of Nigeria’s healthcare system. A central pillar of this transformation is digital health innovation. The Ministry continues to support initiatives that promote electronic health records (EHRs), data harmonization, digital capacity building, and the establishment of a national health information exchange. We recognize that achieving these goals depends largely on the expertise of Health Information Management professionals. Therefore, the government will continue to collaborate with AHRIMPN and HRORBN to strengthen professional standards and regulatory frameworks; enhance welfare, equity, and justice for practitioners; improve training, retraining, and digital literacy; and promote the ethical use and security of health data in all health facilities.
7. Our goal is clear: to ensure not only that our health delivery system is digitalized but to also ensure that every health worker from the most remote primary health centre to the most advanced tertiary hospital is equipped to use digital tools for healthcare delivery, reporting, and policy decision-making, while guaranteeing that every Nigerian has access to quality health care and data, regardless of location or socio-economic status.This approach reflects a key lesson: digital transformation is not about replacing human expertise; it is about amplifying it.
8. In the drive to deepen digitalization of our health system through the Nigeria Digital in Health Initiative, we are committed to partnering with your Association in the following key areas:
9. Digitization and integration of health records across all levels of healthcare.
10. Standardization of health data systems for interoperability and quality assurance.
11. Capacity building programs in data analytics, artificial intelligence, and health informatics.
12. Policy support for career progression and recognition of HIM professionals.
13. Collaboration on research and innovation projects to strengthen national health statistics.
14. These align with our shared vision for a modern, technology-driven, and people-centered healthcare delivery system in line with the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative. I urge every practitioner not to remain stagnant but to acquire knowledge in innovative health information management technology such as artificial intelligence, internet of medical things, blockchain and telemedicine which are transforming healthcare. As you do this, I urge you to continue to uphold professionalism, ethics, and integrity in your work, ensuring that you deliver accurate health information at all times to facilitate the accuracy of our health policies. Let us collectively commit to building a data culture in Nigeria, where decisions are guided not by assumptions, but by evidence. The Ministry counts on your expertise to make this vision a reality.
15. The Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative of the Federal Ministry of Health recognises these fundamental benefits and has therefore identified digitalisation as a cross cutting enabler of our agenda to save lives, reduce physical and financial pain and produce health for all Nigerians.
16. Let me once again commend the leadership and members of the Association of Health Records and Information Management Practitioners of Nigeria for organizing this conference as a platform for national discourse for progress. I also commend the Health Records Officers Registration Board of Nigeria for providing the regulatory oversight and continous professional development initiatives for the growth of the profession. The Federal Ministry of Health stands ready to support the profession and practitioners in achieving its noble mandate by providing all needed enablement. Together, let us harness innovation and technology to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system and secure a healthier, more resilient future for our people.
17. And so with peace and plenty, Nigeria shall be blessed. Thank you for your attention.