Health
Invest in healthcare, digital medical training, doctors urge FG, states
Rotimi Agbana
The West African College of Physicians on Saturday urged the Federal Government and state governments to adopt sustainable healthcare financing, strengthen medical training infrastructure and embrace affordable digital technologies to address challenges affecting Nigeria’s health sector.
The college made the call during a press conference in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, at the end of the 50th Annual General and Scientific Meeting of its Nigeria Chapter.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Chapter of the WACP and Vice President of the college, Prof. Benjamin Uzochukwu, said the resolutions reached at the meeting were aimed at building a more resilient healthcare system through stronger partnerships among medical professionals, government institutions and communities.
PUNCH Online reports that the conference, held from July 5 to 11, 2026, at the International Conference Centre, Ibadan, was themed, “Building Bridges, Forging Resilience and Partnership in Health.”
Uzochukwu said the meeting brought together 434 doctors, comprising 351 physical participants and 83 virtual attendees, including fellows, resident doctors, researchers, policymakers and public health stakeholders from Nigeria and other West African countries.
He explained that the meeting focused on three key areas: reimagining medical training, harnessing affordable digital technologies to improve patient care, and building a stronger financial foundation for healthcare delivery.
He said, “The discussions identified persistent disconnects within Nigeria’s health system, including gaps between medical disciplines, laboratories and clinics, policy formulation and implementation, healthcare training and national needs, as well as inequalities between urban and rural communities.
“The college resolved that stronger bridges must be created across medical disciplines, the executive, legislative and administrative arms of government, and between urban and rural healthcare systems.
“The college underscores the urgent need to build bridges across medical disciplines, between policy and practice, and between urban and rural communities to strengthen resilience and partnership in health.
“We call on governments at all levels to move beyond temporary interventions by providing sustainable healthcare financing mechanisms, reliable utilities, an adequate healthcare workforce, improved infrastructure, diagnostic services, blood transfusion facilities and greater health equity.”
The college also recommended that postgraduate training institutions establish minimum infrastructure standards while strengthening multidisciplinary care, rural practice incentives, research support, mentorship programmes, diaspora engagement and healthcare workforce data systems.
Speaking on medical education, Uzochukwu said the college advocated the adoption of affordable digital tools to improve postgraduate medical training and standardise competencies.
He said technologies such as artificial intelligence-assisted tutoring, spaced repetition flashcards, virtual patient simulations, three-dimensional anatomy platforms and e-learning systems could expand learning beyond bedside training without requiring huge capital investments.
“Technology should complement, not substitute, clinical training and skills acquisition,” he said.
The college recommended a three-step implementation model for integrating technology into medical education. The model involves identifying gaps in training pathways, matching each gap with the simplest workable digital solution, and piloting, evaluating and scaling successful interventions.
It also urged the Federal Government to provide dedicated and sustainable funding for digital infrastructure in medical education, establish minimum national standards, create a national consortium on medical education technology, develop digital pedagogy training modules and ensure equitable access to digital resources across federal, state and private institutions.
The WACP further called for stronger collaboration between the college and the National Universities Commission in curriculum development and other aspects of postgraduate medical training.
The college also appreciated Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, the Oyo State Ministry of Health, sponsors, partner institutions, faculty members and participants for their support toward the success of the meeting.
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