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 announces the three winners of the Nigeria Primary Health Care Innovation Hackathon

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.

The final phase is fast approaching. SEDIN will promote the three best digital and business solutions selected among the H-Hackathon participants, publish their success stories and summarise the programme results in best practices for actionable uptake.
SEDIN is organising the Primary Health Care Innovation Open Day on 12 July 2023. SEDIN will present the research results and the three selected innovators will pitch their solutions.
Save the date
Primary Health Care Innovation Open Day
Join us for the live streaming
Participation is free but registration is needed
12 July 2023,
09:00 – 13:00 Nigerian Time
Open Day programme outline
09:00 – 09:10 |
Welcome
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09:10 – 09:30 | Guest speaker |
09:30– 09:45
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Primary Health Care Innovation programme objectives
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09:45 – 10:15 | Findings of the research |
10:15 – 10:45 | Panel discussion |
10:45 – 11:00 | Coffee Break |
11:00 – 11:15 | The H-HACK programme |
11:15 – 12:00 | Innovators’ pitch and questions from the audience |
12:00 – 13:00 | Light Lunch and Networking |
13:00 – 14:00 | Parallel sessions for in-depth analysis of the innovators’ solutions from the health care, technological and business perspective |
14:00 – 14:15 | Leg stretch break |
14:15 – 14:30
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Innovators’ presentation of the takeaway for further refinement of their solutions for market uptake
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