Agency moves to tackle innovation challenges in Nigeria’s Health Sector

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has pledged to support Nigeria’s Health sector in providing solutions to the challenges confronting it through innovations, especially in record management.

In view of this, NITDA will organise Hackathon and Innovation Challenge for the Startups in Nigeria to come up with solutions that can be applied by the country.

The Director General Kashifu Inuwa
stated this in Abuja when he received the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Prof Abdulrahman Sheshe, and his team who were on a working visit to appreciate the Agency for its intervention in the institution and also to seek for possible areas of collaborations.

According to Mr. Inuwa, finding solutions to problems indigenously would make it easier for the country to have homegrown solutions rather than buy off-the-shelf solutions that are imported.

He said, “We can use such solutions as pilots and if they work for us then we can now see how to expand and deploy them across the country.”

Explaining the virtue of collaboration among government establishments, Inuwa stressed the need to work together to develop the user requirements for the innovation challenge.

While responding to the request of the Teaching Hospital, Inuwa stated that “the Agency can design specialised training for the hospital.”

He enjoined the Chief Medical Director and his team to visit the subsidiary of the Agency, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) for them to see where they could collaborate that would be beneficial to both parties.

Inuwa said; “We have the technology but we don’t have the know-how and expertise in your area, so we need people from your field who can work with our team to create solutions.”

The CMD, AKTH, Professor Abdulrahman Sheshe appreciated the NITDA for its intervention in the institution.

He said; “For the first time we have a digital class and all our departments have been enjoying the facilities. All the clinical departments have been using the facilities given to us to conduct research, do clinical meetings, conduct seminars and training programs which hitherto have been conventionally taken place.”

“You have helped us with teleconference materials which we have been enjoying also.

“We have had occasions to contact other institutions outside the country, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Professor Sheshe added.

Mercy Chukwudiebere