By Sola Ogundipe

Stakeholders in the healthcare sector have emphasised the need for stronger collaboration with private healthcare providers and the deployment of digital health solutions towards improving maternal health outcomes and reducing maternal mortality rates in Lagos State.

The call came just as the state government was charged to ramp up its health budgetary financing and digital infrastructure to meet the 15 percent budget target recommendation of the 2001 Abuja Declaration.

Speaking at the high-level Lagos state policy stakeholders dialogue held by the Lagos State Ministry of Health in partnership with ACIOE Foundation, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Dayo Lajide, explained that the state government is working with partners to introduce innovative digital and financing solutions aimed at strengthening maternal healthcare delivery.

Lajide, who noted that the primary focus of the forum was to explore strategies for creating an enabling environment for private healthcare financing and digital health solutions aimed at improving maternal health outcomes in the state, explained that the Ministry of Health is prioritising public–private partnerships as a strategy to expand healthcare access.

“We are working with our partners to see how we can advance maternal health outcomes and improve our maternal mortality rate by using digital health solutions and healthcare financing.

As a ministry, we place high priority on public-private partnerships. We want to continue to engage private healthcare providers and bring more of them on board so they can make use of our digital health and health-financing solutions,” she added.

Also speaking at the event, Dr Folasade Oludara, the Director, Family Health and Nutrition Directorate, Lagos state Ministry of Health, said the forum was aimed at showcasing innovations in digital health targeted at improving maternal health outcomes, particularly within the private healthcare sector.

“The technology we are introducing is important because many of our women have non-communicable diseases, especially during pregnancy. Some have diabetes not necessarily caused by pregnancy, and others have hypertensive disorders.

“It is therefore very important for us to ensure that they follow the appropriate instructions toward safe delivery and better pregnancy outcomes.

“We must intensify advocacy so that every Lagosian embraces health insurance. This will reduce out-of-pocket expenses and ensure equitable health coverage for all citizens of the state,” she said.

A highpoint of the forum was the call to action of the state governor and executive council to endorse and operationalise the Lagos Digital Healthcare Act; enforce the Social Health Insurance mandate; increase the health budget to 15 percent and improve timely release in the next budget cycle.

Making the call while presenting asks of the advocacy brief, the ACIOE Foundation and its implementing partners said the push for financial reform is centered on making healthcare affordable for the provider and the patient that involves accelerating mass enrollment in the Ilera EKO insurance scheme and, crucially, expanding coverage to include private maternal health providers.

On the digital front, the call for a Lagos State Digital Healthcare Act has been renewed as health watchers argue that a formal legal framework is needed to support the state’s growing tech ecosystem. This includes scaling AI-powered platforms like the Digital Mom project, which uses self-care coaching and risk screening to track women from pregnancy through postpartum.

The introduction of geo-coded referral systems like NaviHealth.ai is also being touted as a game-changer, allowing for real-time feedback on service quality and creating a much-needed layer of accountability in the referral chain.

The proposed reforms extend to strict accountability in the private sector, with a new mandate being pushed to ensure all licensed private facilities report to the Maternal Perinatal Child Death Surveillance and Response (MPCDSR) system through which Lagos aims to close the gap between public oversight and private delivery, ensuring that “Health for All” is a measurable reality rather than a policy slogan.

Further, the Lagos State House of Assembly was enjoined to legislate a Digital Healthcare Act, mandate MPCDSR in all licensed private health facilities, pass a dedicated private sector maternal health engagement policy and amend the law to reflect the mandatory nature of Social Health Insurance inline with the NHIA act.For LASHMA, the expectation is to accelerate mass enrollment through community-based channels, including PPMVs, community pharmacies, and the llera N’ Tiwa Cooperative.

The private sector, banks, and FinTechs were urged to develop healthcare-specific loan products; participate in the Lagos Private Health Partnership (LPHP) risk equalisation fund and invest in healthcare assets to cover the $82 billion healthcare investment gap identified by Knight+Frank (2020).

Development partners and donors were urged to ensure transitions of successful pilots (DigitalMoms, Project Aisha, PACS project and FORMom), to State-funded programmes.

Lagos State Ministry of Health: Scale up successful pilots (DigitalMoms,Project Aisha, PACS project and FORMom), to State-funded programmes.

Private health facilities were enjoined to adopt a financial management strengthening model that ensures a sustainable private healthcare business that enables quality service delivery.