According to the WHO, primary health care means: “essential health care based on practical scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology, made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost which the country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination. It is the first level contact of the individual and community in the national health system, thus bringing health care as close as possible to where people live and work and contributes the first element of a continuing health care process”.
Nigeria is one of the few countries in the developing world to have systematically decentralised the delivery of basic health and education services to locally elected governments.
The SEDIN programme aims to support the development of Nigeria’s primary health care sector and promote the adoption of innovative business/digital solutions for the benefit of citizens, primary health care practitioners, primary health care entrepreneurs, SMEs, and innovators offering innovative and sustainable solutions.
To achieve this ambition, SEDIN has identified the need for further research and analysis to determine the leverage points for private investment and areas where the public and private stakeholders should come together to promote innovation in the Nigerian primary health sector, with a focus on five States: Edo, Lagos, Niger, Ogun and Plateau.
The programme is organised around 3 stages:
SEDIN organised the Primary Health Care Innovation Open Day on 12 July 2023. The research results were presented to attendees in Abuja and online and the three selected innovators pitched their solutions.
In the first phase, we conducted thorough research aiming at better understand
- The network of actors and functions in the public and private primary healthcare sector
- The Level of awareness and adoption of innovative business and digital solutions
- The level of digital and business skills at the primary healthcare level
- The driving forces for change, the concrete needs which may foster the adoption of innovative business/digital solutions in the primary health sector in Nigeria
- The restraining forces, the obstacles for change which are expected to prevent new business/digital solutions from being adopted
- The existing and emerging solutions piloted or adopted in the primary health sector.
This research included desk research, a qualitative phase with in-depth interviews with selected healthcare experts, and a quantitative phase. The quantitative phase is conducted through a questionnaire for primary health care practitioners in the field, but it was also open to anybody online. An online workshop with multidisciplinary experts validated the results and provided further insights.
SEDIN launched the Nigeria Primary Health Care Innovation Hackathon
The SEDIN programme has selected the Nigerian primary health care sector as one of its support sectors based on the identified growth potentials and existing business opportunities. SEDIN aims to strengthen the development of this sector and promote the adoption of innovative business/digital solutions thus creating employment and income for the benefit of citizens, primary health care practitioners, primary health care entrepreneurs, SMEs, and innovators offering innovative and sustainable solutions.
SEDIN organised the Primary Health Care Innovation Open Day on 12 July 2023. The research results were presented to attendees in Abuja and online and the three selected innovators pitched their solutions.