In Nigeria, hospitals should stability healthcare with {financial} sustainability.
With out correct administration and effectivity, they danger struggling to offer high quality care, increase companies, or stay operational.
Whereas their major mission is saving lives, they have to additionally undertake sound enterprise rules to make sure long-term viability.
Nairametrics just lately spoke with Mrs. Njide Ndili, PharmAccess Nation Director and newly elected President of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN), on the significance of efficient {financial} methods for sustaining service supply and bettering healthcare entry.
In accordance with Ndili, Nigeria’s well being sector will appeal to extra traders if stakeholders concentrate on enhancements and drive strategic reforms to strengthen private-public collaboration in healthcare.
NAIRAMETRICS: Would you say hospitals as companies will play a task in Nigeria’s well being sector development?
Njide Ndili: The healthcare sector in Nigeria wants a paradigm shift—hospitals have to be run like companies to outlive, however they have to additionally prioritize their position in saving lives. Putting this stability will guarantee hospitals should not merely profit-driven entities however sustainable establishments that serve all Nigerians successfully.
Nevertheless, viewing hospitals as companies mustn’t imply healthcare is just for the rich. The federal government should strengthen public well being funding, regulate healthcare pricing, and guarantee non-public hospitals function ethically. On the identical time, non-public hospitals ought to embrace company social duty by providing free or backed companies to essentially the most susceptible populations.
Working hospitals like companies doesn’t diminish their humanitarian function—it reinforces it. Healthcare amenities, whether or not public or non-public, require environment friendly operations, {financial} self-discipline, and customer-centric fashions to ship high quality care persistently.
Within the Nigerian context, many well being establishments battle because of poor administration techniques, weak accountability buildings, and lack of strategic planning. Identical to any enterprise, hospitals want robust governance, clear efficiency metrics, and sustainable income fashions.
Value management, service diversification, and funding in infrastructure have to be aligned with affected person care aims to drive long-term influence.
Furthermore, the healthcare trade presents a big untapped {economic} alternative. Past service supply, hospitals can function innovation hubs, coaching grounds, and facilities for specialised care, producing employment, attracting native capital, and fostering entrepreneurship in medical tech, prescribed drugs, diagnostics, and wellness.
Hospitals that embrace trendy enterprise instruments equivalent to digital recordkeeping, knowledge analytics, buyer relationship administration (CRM), and lean operational fashions is not going to solely survive however thrive in at present’s evolving healthcare panorama. Integrating enterprise technique with compassionate care shouldn’t be a contradiction—it’s a necessity for development and sustainability.
NAIRAMETRICS: You’ve outlined strategic pillars for strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare sector, as you latterly assumed the place of President of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN), together with public-private integration, major healthcare, capability constructing, and leveraging diaspora experience. May you elaborate on every of those pillars and your plans for implementation?
Njide Ndili: Definitely. The primary precedence is making certain that the non-public sector has a voice in policymaking, provided that it gives over 60% of healthcare companies in Nigeria. Strengthening relationships with policymakers is essential for aligning insurance policies with the realities of healthcare suppliers.
Second, we have to drive public-private partnerships (PPP) in major healthcare. Regardless of the federal government’s commendable efforts in establishing over 40,000 major healthcare facilities, many stay non-functional. By means of PharmaAccess, we efficiently activated 15 major healthcare facilities in Delta State, bettering maternal well being outcomes. Increasing this mannequin nationwide is a precedence.
Third, bettering healthcare high quality is important, notably within the context of Nigeria’s Nationwide Well being Insurance coverage Act. The dearth of belief in healthcare companies deters folks from subscribing to medical health insurance. Making certain high quality in infrastructure, processes, and personnel by initiatives like our SafeCare methodology will improve service supply.
One other key focus is know-how adoption for healthcare transparency, knowledge administration, and human useful resource optimization. Moreover, capability constructing for healthcare administration is important. We’re in discussions with establishments just like the College of Ghana Administration Enterprise School to offer coaching for healthcare professionals on environment friendly facility administration.
Lastly, enhancing native manufacturing is crucial for Nigeria’s well being sovereignty. COVID-19 highlighted the necessity for self-sufficiency in vaccine and drug manufacturing. We’re collaborating with the Presidential Initiative on Unlocking the Healthcare Worth Chain (PVAC) to drive investments in native manufacturing.
NAIRAMETRICS: Overseas direct funding (FDI) in healthcare has been gradual. What methods can Nigeria undertake to draw and retain FDI within the healthcare sector?
Njide Ndili: Attracting FDI requires addressing a number of elements. First, traders want assurance of a secure {economic} local weather and the flexibility to repatriate funds. Second, we should exhibit viable markets for healthcare companies. Traders search assurance that companies equivalent to most cancers therapy facilities and diagnostic amenities can have ample clientele.
Regulatory consistency is one other crucial issue. Modifications in authorities typically result in contract cancellations, discouraging long-term funding. Strengthening contract sanctity and making certain political will to uphold agreements is vital.
A promising improvement is the federal government’s strategic appointment of certified professionals in key healthcare companies. The introduction of a sector-wide strategy (SWAp) by the Federal Ministry of Well being goals to harmonize funding and implementation efforts, making a extra structured funding panorama.
Nigeria’s giant inhabitants, rising center class, and growing well being consciousness current a compelling marketplace for FDI within the healthcare sector. Nevertheless, to unlock this potential, the nation should aggressively place healthcare as an investible sector.
This implies creating clear return-on-investment (ROI) fashions, simplifying regulatory pathways, and showcasing profitable PPPs as proof of idea. Traders need certainty—they should see {that a} diagnostic lab, non-public clinic chain, or medical gear plant can scale profitably in Nigeria.
Creating sector-specific funding guides, easing bureaucratic bottlenecks, and providing danger mitigation frameworks (like funding insurance coverage or foreign money danger hedging) would ship the best alerts to international well being traders.
Moreover, FDI shouldn’t solely imply international hospitals establishing facilities in Nigeria—it ought to contain information switch, joint ventures, gear leasing, and innovation partnerships.
With Africa being a strategic frontier for international well being safety, Nigeria has an opportunity to place itself as a regional healthcare hub—if it crafts the best funding narrative backed by constant, clear, and investor-friendly insurance policies.
With Africa being a strategic frontier for international well being safety, Nigeria has an opportunity to place itself as a regional healthcare hub—if it crafts the best funding narrative backed by constant, clear, and investor-friendly insurance policies.
NAIRAMETRICS: How do you see Nigeria’s healthcare sector evolving over the subsequent 5 years with the present authorities’s insurance policies and initiatives?
