At the Africa Health Business Symposium 2025 side-session plenary, organized by the ECHAlliance Nigerian Health Ecosystem Gathering 2025 under the theme “Connecting the Dots – Cancer Care and Innovation”, the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN) joined a distinguished panel of health thought leaders to accelerate cancer care delivery in Nigeria.
The session featured Senator Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, Board Chairman, National Health Insurance Authority; Prof. Abidemi Omonisi, President/CEO, Nigerian Cancer Society; Dr. Baba Ahmed, Technical Adviser, Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Health; Dr. Rasaaq Oyesegun, Consultant Radiation & Clinical Oncology; Dr. Gafar Alawode, Co-founder, DG Consults; and Mrs. Njide Ndili, President of HFN, along with other industry experts and policymakers. Together, they explored pathways to leverage innovation, policy, and partnerships to scale up cancer care across Nigeria’s healthcare landscape.
The panel commended the unprecedented impact of the National Cancer Health Fund, championed and sponsored by HFN, but underscored a critical gap. Despite relentless advocacy, no private hospitals have yet been accredited under this fund. The discussion called for:
* Integration of private facilities to harness untapped capacity and expertise
* Quality improvement programs across all facilities, addressing infrastructure, equipment availability, documented processes, clinical protocols, and trained human resources to improve health outcomes
It was emphasized that quality is non-negotiable, built on four interdependent pillars:
* Equipment
* Infrastructure
* Processes
* Human resources for health
Uniform standards at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels were deemed essential because “what you can’t measure, you can’t improve.”
The SafeCare quality tool’s impact in both public and private hospitals, such as FMC Ebute Metta and General Hospital Ikorodu, was highlighted, along with the adoption of 22 disease-specific quality monitoring tools by the NHIA.
The Healthcare Federation of Nigeria continues to unite private sector stakeholders to shape health policy, improve service delivery, and champion universal health coverage across Nigeria.