The 5th edition of the Lagos Health Summit (LHS 5.0) took place at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos on Wednesday June 26.
LHS 5.0 was an opportunity for stakeholders in the health sector to appraise the myriad of challenges affecting the sector, while offering innovative solutions.
The annual event put together by HCA Consults had as its theme, Future of Wellness; Fostering Collaboration for a Healthier Populace, and featured five presentations, three panel sessions, a product demo and an exhibition..
In his welcome address, Dr. Moshood Habeeb, Executive Director, Lagos Health Summit, said “it is imperative that we harness the power of collaboration to pave the way for a healthier future. Our theme this year underscores the vital role of partnership and cooperation in achieving a shared vision for all.
“The Lagos Health Summit has always been a platform for insightful dialogue, groundbreaking ideas and transformative actions. Over the years, we have seen incredible innovations and initiatives emerge from this forum, each contributing to the betterment of our health systems. and the overall wellness of our communities”.
Keynote Address was delivered by Dr. Babajide Oyeduntan, VP, Business Development and Sales, Eclat Interswitch, who discussed the Role of Telehealth in Promoting Healthcare Equity and Accessibility.
All hands on deck
In her presentation entitled Driving Sustainable Last Mile Innovation: The Community of Practice, Stephanie Okpere, Lead, Design for Health Practice, Co-Creation Hub, announced the launch of HealthTech Connect Africa, a groundbreaking initiative set to kick off in Nigeria in July. According to her, the project aims to revolutionize healthcare across Africa, by creating a collaborative network of diverse stakeholders, including startups, government agencies and local communities.
The initiative, according to her, will address a $174 billion funding gap for non-communicable diseases in Africa, improve rural healthcare access through innovative technologies and facilitate knowledge sharing and investment in healthtech solutions. Okpere also emphasised the importance of private sector investment in achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Of ‘Google Doctors’ and Heavy Meals
Based on the theme Promoting Wellness in the Modern World: Strategies, Challenges and Impact and moderated by Dr. Olawale Ogunlana, founder of 100K Club, the final panel session of the summit was a pot-pourri of ideas in the exploration of barriers and opportunities in the promotion of wellness in Nigeria.
In his contribution, Dr. Abayomi Kolade, Founder and CEO of Wellane Health Limited lamented the rise of what he called ‘Google Doctors’ -an allusion to the phenomenon where individuals now rely on internet searches for medical advice, rather than consult healthcare professionals. This, he said, is a departure from pre-internet years, when patients went to hospitals and clinics to discuss their health conditions with health workers. This phenomenon, he concluded, has given rise to an increase in self diagnoses and self medications.
Dr. Kolade also described how ingrained cultural practices could pose significant challenges to the promotion of wellness, especially in nutrition.
In his words, “People in my part of the country, in the southwest, still have heavy meals, three times a day.”
According to him, this shows how difficult it might be, to make lifestyle changes, due to ingrained cultural practices, such as dietary habits.
Quoting statistics, Dr. Kolade says Africa, led by Nigeria, bears 27% of the global chronic disease burden, a situation which costs the continent over $1 trillion.
Another critical issue raised during the panel session was the government’s reluctance to share health data. As Dr. Kolade noted, “If you are looking for the data for hypertension in Lagos, I’m not sure you can get that.”
In his submission, lack of accessible and reliable health data hinders the development of targeted and effective wellness strategies. He therefore called for greater transparency and collaboration between government health agencies and wellness practitioners.
Dr. Kolade stressed the importance of developing homegrown solutions and leveraging technology, to improve health outcomes.
He emphasized the urgent need for action and reiterated the prediction of the World Health Organisation (WHO) that sudden death could become the leading cause of mortality in Africa by 2030.
The wellness net: mainstream or fringes
In his contribution to the same panel session, Kola Kobiti of AfriHealth noted that while approximately 90 million Nigerians are covered by various health insurance schemes (including 10 to 16 million on international schemes and about 75 million on the National Health Insurance Scheme -NHIS), a staggering 200 million people remain without any form of health insurance coverage.
He asked, “The big question is what happens to the 200 million people who are not in the scheme or who are not registered with any HMO?”
According to him, this is a healthcare gap affecting more than two-thirds of Nigeria’s estimated 300 million population.
Dr. Abayomi Kolade also made some contribution to a discussion of the concept of Wellness, which, according to him, now extends beyond physical health, to encompass mental, social, spiritual, and financial dimensions. He emphasized that this broader perspective aligns with the global trend of measuring national wellbeing beyond traditional metrics such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Dr. Kolade noted that all these dimensions must be addressed, in order to achieve real wellness among the population.
“Wellness is not just about your physical fitness. It is also about creating that narrative to get everybody in shape and say, you know what? This is Nigeria. This is your wellness status as a country”, he explained.
The session ended with panelists calling for a multi-sectoral approach and stakeholder collaborations towards addressing the wellness crisis in Nigeria. They also made the following recommendations:
- Healthcare providers must think outside the box, to combat misinformation and make precise health guidance readily available.
- The issue of data transparency should be addressed by policy makers, since data is crucial for establishing a national health database.
- Corporations should recognize the value of employee wellness and implement supportive health programs for employees.
- Wellness practitioners must develop culturally-sensitive approaches to reach diverse communities, effectively.
- Health awareness may be inculcated in the population, from an early age and through educational institutions.
In his closing remarks, Kamal Adebayo, Head of Business Development of Lagos Health Summit (LHS) said, “The session left me feeling optimistic about the impact (that) promoting wellness can have on individuals and the society as a whole. Increased wellbeing can lead to improved productivity, stronger communities and a happier population.”
LHS 5.0 was sponsored by Interswitch, EHA Clinics, Afrihealth, Remedial Health, Anadach Group and Lagos Junction.