Event Category: Insights Webinar

Join us for an engaging session focused on how investing in healthcare workers leads to more effective, equitable, and sustainable health systems.

Date : Wednesday, 28th May, 2025

Time : 3pm (WAT)

Virtual : Zoom

Frontline healthcare workers are globally recognized as the foundation of strong and resilient public health systems. They play a vital role in delivering essential services across prevention, treatment, and emergency response. Repeated public health emergencies including the COVID-19 pandemic have underscored the immense personal risks these workers face in safeguarding community health. 

However, with the worsening doctor-to-patient ratio in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), many nations continue to fall significantly short of the World Health Organization’s recommended standards, suggesting the situation is far from improving.    Also, healthcare workers face critical challenges that impact their well-being and performance. These include workforce shortages, low pay, limited career growth, and exposure to health and safety risks. Mental health strain is widespread due to stress and lack of support. Poor infrastructure, administrative burdens, and brain drain weaken systems further, while gender inequality, community mistrust, and weak legal protections increase their vulnerability.

In this vein, the 32nd episode of the Insights Webinar will explore the key challenges facing frontline healthcare workers and their broader impact on public health systems. The session will also offer strategic recommendations for empowering healthcare workers across all levels, with the aim of strengthening and sustaining resilient public healthcare systems. 

Learnings from Leaders Driving Digital Transformation of African Health Systems

African health systems are not just recipients of technological interventions; they are fertile grounds for innovation, driven by local expertise and leadership. This central theme drove the 31st edition of the Insights Webinar. The discussion that focused on Leaders Driving Digital Transformation of African Health Systems emphasized the need to institutionalize digital transformation and consistently elevate stories of African leaders driving change through technology, rather than solely focusing on the challenges within the health sector. 

Panelists underscored the urgent need to address the fragmented nature of African health systems and the systemic barriers hindering effective healthcare delivery. More than just identifying problems, the focus shifted to implementing concrete digital measures that foster improved health outcomes. 

Also who are drawn from across Africa and other parts of the world emphasized that accelerating action requires providing African institutions with access to appropriate technologies. This, according to them, will foster digital leadership, and empower local stakeholders in decision-making processes, alongside embedding user-centered and context-aware digital health practices into their systems.

Despite the existing infrastructural limitations and digital divides, panelists stressed that true digital health equity demands strategic policy frameworks, regulatory adaptations, and systemic reforms tailored to the African context. A continent-wide, collaborative approach is essential. 

As one panelist noted, for too long, discussions around health innovation in Africa have been dominated by external actors, this must change. A multi-faceted, systemic approach, driven by African leadership, is critical, and the time for decisive action is now.

Governments play a pivotal role in shaping policies and legal frameworks that enable digital transformation, particularly in ensuring effective implementation and domestication of digital health strategies. While initial steps have been taken, greater public and private sector collaboration is needed to foster an enabling environment. Panelists called for strong policy advocacy to ensure these policies translate into tangible improvements in healthcare access and quality.

Additionally, panelists recommended capacity building initiatives focused on digital health expertise and the showcasing of successful African digital health leadership models. Highlighting the achievements of African innovators and institutions can serve as a powerful catalyst for changing the narrative and accelerating digital transformation across all aspects of the continent’s health systems.

Panelists:

Dr. Jennifer Batamuliza – Head of Data Driven Incubation at the Africa Center of Excellence in Data Science

Abdulhamid Yahaya – Deputy Director of Global Health Informatics at eHealth Africa

Megan Kill – Senior Manager, Implementation and Capacity Building at Bao Systems 

Dr. Niyi Osamiluyi – CEO of Premier Health Consult and converner of the Africa Digital Health Summit

Moderator:

Tijesu Ojumu – Communications Coordinator

As the 2030 Immunization Target rapidly approaches, the urgency to extend outreach services to underserved areas has never been more pressing. Reaching children who have missed vaccines and ensuring broader access to immunization are critical steps in preventing outbreaks and safeguarding public health. In light of these challenges, the 28th episode of the Insights Webinar explored strategies for closing immunization gaps and increasing vaccine acceptance, particularly in developing countries.

The discussion centered on the feasibility of meeting the immunization targets in the face of current challenges. Despite these realities, panelists expressed optimism, emphasizing that both conventional and innovative strategies are essential for expanding vaccine access, improving outreach efforts, and building greater community trust in immunization programs.

Panelists also stressed the importance of ensuring that technology remains a foundational strategy for vaccine delivery, storage, and administration. According to the panelists, this approach will enable more accurate data, leading to improved decision-making. The deployment of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) emerged as a key tool for ensuring that every community is reached with vaccines, further contributing to the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases. The GIS tool is also crucial in tracking vaccinators across various communities.

Furthermore, the panelists highlighted the need for creative, community-based solutions and underscored the importance of building awareness and trust in vaccines as part of a broader effort to meet global immunization goals by 2030. To enhance trust and confidence in vaccines, they emphasized the need to educate parents through the right communication channels, such as traditional institutions, while sharing compelling stories about the importance of vaccination.

Panelists:

• Muhammed Faosy-Adeniran, Project Manager, Vaccine Direct Delivery, eHealth Africa
• Dr. Shaikh Kabir, UNICEF Immunization Manager, Nigeria
• Dr. Peace Pever Torkwase, Coordinator, IPC at EHA Clinic

Moderator: Tijesu Ojumu, Communications Coordinator, eHealth Africa

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