A one-day international summit on Islamic financing as an alternative funding source for primary healthcare in Nigeria has opened in Abuja with the theme ‘Harnessing innovative sources of financing primary healthcare infrastructural development in Nigeria.
Organised by the Islamic Economic Foundation and the Duke Consult with the support of the development Research and Projects Centre, dRPC, the summit brought participants from the Islamic Development Bank, academics, the business community, and technology firms to telemedicine and new sources of financing primary healthcare through ethical, flexible and practicable funding.
In his opening remarks at the summit, the President of the African Islamic Economic Foundation, Malam Baba Yunus Muhammad, said the summit represents a significant milestone in the intersection of healthcare, technology, and faith-based financial principles in one of Africa’s most populous and diverse nations in its quest to improve healthcare access and quality.
‘’In recent years, we have witnessed remarkable advancements in technology that have transformed countless aspects of our lives, from e-commerce to communication and medicine, leading limitless opportunities for Africa and other continents’’ He said.
Malam Baba said the summit is a digital transformation bridge that will close the gaps between healthcare providers and patients, allowing timely interventions and improved health outcomes. Therefore, he urged participants to take the opportunity provided by the summit to network, share ideas and develop recommendations that will align with President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda in the health sector.
Earlier, the former Kano State Governor, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, who chaired the summit, disclosed that investing in digital health technology through the instrument of Islamic financing will not only bridge the gaps in healthcare delivery in Nigeria but will improve access, reduce geographical barriers, enhance the quality of healthcare services, and seamlessly provide specialised healthcare for Nigerians regardless of their social status.
‘’Islamic finance, with its principles of fairness and social responsibility, can play a pivotal role in supporting the adoption and implementation of digital health technology in Nigeria,’’ He added.
He described the summit as an avenue with a unique platform to explore how Islamic financing and digital health technology can intersect and drive Nigeria’s primary healthcare transformation agenda.
While supporting the need for Nigeria to review its dependence on budget as the only source of healthcare financing, Dr. Stanley Ukpai called on stakeholders at the summit to find alternative funding sources to diversify its domestic funding sources to fiancé health.
‘This summit is an innovative alternative to provide Nigeria with the link between new sources of funds and digital healthcare opportunities that can transform Nigeria’s healthcare delivery, especially as Nigeria will witness the highest budgetary allocation to health of 8% in 2024. This is a great opportunity for all hands to be on deck to ensure adequate funding of the sector’’ He added.
At the end of deliberations, the summit will provide a technical framework that would serve as an advisory to the governments at all levels to consider as alternative sources for funding healthcare, especially when resource spaces are becoming tighter.
