NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, December 8, 2014

As low application of innovation and technology in the healthcare sector remains the biggest drawback in transforming delivery in Nigeria, the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PHN), a private sector-led coalition, has unveiled $1 million Health Innovation Challenge (HIC) to address suboptimal health care.

Additionally, it aims to reduce variability in care and catalyse impact investments in critical segments that benefit the underserved in Nigeria’s 170 million populace.

With many incubation and innovation platforms in the country targeting information technology and applications in finance and commerce, none of the existing platforms currently focus on health innovation/application of technology in healthcare delivery, a development, HIC seeks to address.

This comes as less than 3 percent of the 2,400 awardees of the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWIN) are in the health sector.

Unveiling the $1 million health challenge, Herbert Wigwe, chair, PHN Nigeria Health Innovation Marketplace (MHIM) steering committee and GMD, Access Bank, disclosed that the biggest missed opportunity in accelerating improved Nigeria’s health outcomes lies in the ability to create a health innovation marketplace to identify, spur and scale up promising health innovations that leapfrog constraints and save lives.