As leaders, innovators, policymakers, and development partners gather for the 6th Africa Digital Health Summit, one reality is clear: digital transformation in health is not primarily about technology. It is about building stronger, more resilient, equitable, and people-centered health systems. Technology serves as the enabler.
Globally, countries are increasing investments in digital health. However, the past two decades have shown that sustainable transformation relies on strong foundations, not isolated applications, platforms, or short-term pilot projects.
Too often, countries have invested in digital tools that function effectively on their own but cannot communicate with one another. The result is fragmentation, duplication, inefficiency, and an increased burden on already overstretched health workers. Valuable resources are spent collecting the same information multiple times, while decision-makers struggle to obtain a complete picture of health system performance.
Countries making the most progress prioritise governance, interoperability, common standards, and shared digital architecture. These foundations enable secure data exchange and ensure investments remain valuable as technologies and funding evolve. They also allow innovation to become part of a unified national health system.
Government stewardship is central to this approach. While governments may not develop every digital solution, they are essential in setting standards, ensuring interoperability, protecting citizens’ data, and fostering a unified framework aligned with national priorities. Digital health systems should embed governance, architecture, and standards from the beginning, not as an afterthought.
Nigeria is well positioned to adopt this approach. Its scale, entrepreneurial energy, growing digital ecosystem, skilled workforce, and commitment to health-sector reform provide a unique opportunity to transform its health system and to influence digital health across the region.
Nigeria’s ongoing health sector reforms lay a strong foundation for transformation. Initiatives to strengthen primary care, improve information systems, enhance surveillance, expand financial protection, and institutionalise data-driven decision-making support large-scale digital innovation. Increased coordination, accountability, and alignment with national priorities are equally important. Digital transformation should be seen as an accelerator of broader health sector reform, not a separate agenda.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is undoubtedly one of the most transformative technologies of our generation, with significant potential in healthcare. AI can strengthen disease surveillance, support diagnostics, improve health planning, optimise supply chains, enhance clinical decision-making, and expand access to expertise. It offers valuable opportunities to address longstanding health system challenges and accelerate progress toward better outcomes.
The World Health Organisation is ambitious about AI’s potential in health. At the same time, we are equally clear that AI is not a shortcut around weak health systems or weak digital foundations.
Countries increasingly recognise that large-scale AI adoption requires strong governance, regulatory, ethical, and accountability frameworks. This demonstrates leadership, not hesitation. Experience shows that technologies promising in pilot phases can face significant challenges at scale, such as infrastructure needs, cybersecurity risks, maintenance costs, and sustainability concerns.
The lesson is clear: AI must rest on robust, resilient foundations. Successful adoption requires high-quality data, trusted governance, strong digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, workforce capacity, and clear regulations. Without these, even advanced technologies will struggle to deliver lasting value.
For Nigeria, this is a significant opportunity. AI can strengthen health systems, support healthcare workers, optimise resources, enhance surveillance and outbreak response, and accelerate progress toward Universal Health Coverage. Achieving these benefits requires shifting from pilot thinking to system thinking.
The main challenge for many countries is not a lack of innovation. Africa has abundant creativity, talent, and entrepreneurial energy. The real issue is fragmentation, as many promising solutions remain limited to specific programmes, institutions, or regions, reducing their impact and sustainability.
The solution is not more stand-alone applications, but stronger governance, common standards, shared architecture, better partner coordination, and sustained investment in digital public infrastructure. Maintaining a strong focus on outcomes rather than on technology alone is equally important.
More platforms, dashboards, and applications do not guarantee better health. Success should be measured by whether digital transformation improves service delivery, continuity of care, data quality and use, access to services, and health outcomes, while reducing burdens on frontline workers.
Partnership is essential. No single institution can achieve this transformation alone. Governments, development partners, multilateral organizations, academia, civil society, and private sector innovators all play vital roles. Effective collaboration must be anchored in national priorities and guided by strong government leadership to ensure investments are coherent, complementary, standards-based, and sustainable.
Globally, discussions about digital health are evolving. The focus is moving from individual technologies and short-term projects to interoperability, governance, standards, architecture, and sustainability. This shift reflects the recognition that lasting digital transformation requires systems thinking, not project thinking.
As Nigeria advances its digital transformation, three priorities are critical: strengthening governance, interoperability, standards, and digital architecture as national public goods; ensuring digital investments lead to measurable improvements in health outcomes and service delivery; and pursuing artificial intelligence ambitiously, guided by ethics, evidence, safety, regulation, and national priorities.
To be sure, the future of health will undoubtedly be digital. Increasingly, it will also be intelligent. But its success will ultimately be measured not by the sophistication of the technology, but by its contribution to healthier communities, stronger health security, and faster progress towards Universal Health Coverage.
If we keep people and outcomes at the centre of this journey, Nigeria can help shape not only its own digital future, but also the future of health across Africa.
Dr Ursu is the WHO Nigeria Country Representative and Head of Mission.