Health
Group Offers $30m Healthcare Loan to Nigeria, Others
By Adedapo Adesanya
An opportunity has opened for private and Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) health providers in Nigeria to access credit facility to expand their operations.
The loan, created through the Open Doors African Private Healthcare Initiative, is worth $30 million and it is for healthcare providers in Nigeria and four other high malaria burden African countries.
It will specifically support healthcare providers in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to continue offering essential health services, including malaria treatments, to more than five million Africans, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The facility was created by the Health Finance Coalition, a group of leading philanthropies, investors, donors and technical partners focused on mobilising significant private investment to achieve transformative healthcare impact in Africa.
“Private sector healthcare providers deliver nearly 50 per cent of all healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa, including life-saving interventions such as early malaria diagnosis and treatment, ante-natal care and routine vaccinations.
“If left unaddressed, these vital health needs could overwhelm already overburdened health systems and add to the loss of life during the pandemic.
“Projections in 2020, for example, estimated that moderate disruptions in treatment-seeking could lead to as many as 100,000 additional malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africa.
“As countries have shut down sectors of their economies and asked citizens to remain at home to slow the spread of COVID-19, all health providers have seen a decrease in demand for services.
“For private healthcare providers, this also means decreased revenues, putting them at risk of closing during a time when access to care is already a challenge,” a statement by the Global Health Strategies said on Monday.
According to the statement, of the five million patients that the loan facility can impact, almost three million are low-income patients, and approximately 2.4 million are women and 1.4 million are children, who are disproportionately at risk of malaria and other infectious diseases.
“The loan facility will be managed by Malaria No More and loans will be administered through the Medical Credit Fund (MCF), a non-profit health investment fund.
“Loans are expected to average $17,000 per provider to help stabilise operations, buy essential medical equipment, including personal protective equipment, and finance small-scale construction to protect patients from COVID-19 infection.
“MCF’s partner organisation, SafeCare, in collaboration with PMI, will provide training materials to facilities on how to continue providing routine services safely during the pandemic,” it said.
Mr Martin Edlund, CEO of Malaria No More, said: “This facility is one of the first solutions of its kind to address the twin health and economic crises facing the private health sector in Africa due to COVID-19.
“We hope it will spark a broader response using creative finance solutions to save lives from malaria and address Africa’s most urgent health needs,” he is quoted as saying.
According to Mr Ray Chambers, WHO Ambassador for Global Strategy and Health Financing and Chair, the MCJ Amelior Foundation said: “With COVID-19 putting tremendous financial pressure on health budgets across Africa.
“We need creative financing solutions to help governments achieve their ambitious health goals.
“The Open Doors African Private Healthcare Initiative, which supports private health providers through a blend of grants and return-seeking capital, is a leading example. I hope to see strategies such as this one scaled up in the months to come,’’ he said.
The Open Doors African Private Healthcare Initiative is one of the first initiatives to address the economic crunch that the private health sector in Africa is facing due to COVID-19.
A catalytic $700,000 investment by the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) enables a $17.7 million loan guarantee from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and $1.5 million in philanthropic funding from The Rockefeller Foundation, the Skoll Foundation, and the MCJ Amelior Foundation.
Together, this effort unlocks more than $30 million in loans to SME health providers. Additional support comes from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Center for Innovation and Impact (CII).
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
As part of its efforts to safeguard public health in Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has strengthened its regulatory framework for blood and blood products.
A statement signed on Thursday by the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed that to achieve its goal, the agency will collaborate with relevant authorities and stakeholders to establish a robust regulatory framework that promotes the availability of safe, quality-assured and efficacious blood and blood products, while strengthening public confidence in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
NAFDAC said it intends to partner with government institutions, healthcare providers, blood establishments, development partners and other stakeholders for the robust oversight.
Mrs Adeyeye disclosed that already, her organisation has received the support of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate.
According to her, NAFDAC has been given the mandate to regulate blood and blood products in line with global best practices and the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation that these products be subject to oversight by National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) for medicines.
She said blood and blood products are classified as essential medicines and must be consistently available with assured quality, safety and affordability, stressing that the aim is to protect patients throughout the blood transfusion chain.
Effective regulatory oversight will support the quality and safety of blood products from donor assessment and collection through testing, processing, storage, transportation and use, the NAFDAC chief noted.
Several African countries, including Egypt, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Senegal and Rwanda, have already established regulatory oversight of blood and blood products by their NRAS, she added.
Mrs Adeyeye pointed out that NAFDAC’s renewed regulatory preparedness builds on its broader transformation into a modern, science-based regulatory authority.
Already, it has attained WHO Maturity Level 3, completed WHO Global Benchmarking ML3 re-assessment, obtained WHO prequalification for its drug laboratory, and established internationally accredited laboratory and quality management systems. These capabilities provide a strong foundation for the effective regulation of blood and blood products.
As part of its preparedness, NAFDAC has established a dedicated Vaccines, Biologicals and Medical Devices Registration and Regulation Directorate to oversee the registration and regulation of these products.
The agency established a Vaccines, Biologicals and Medical Devices Laboratory Services many years ago, but became a Directorate in 2024, responsible for quality control, including laboratory testing and lot release, while the Directorate of Evaluation and Research provides oversight of Good Manufacturing Practices. An ultra-modern laboratory facility is also being developed to further strengthen its capacity for the assessment and quality control of vaccines and biologics.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
An organisation known as GoMed Nigeria is offering free reproductive health services to Nigerian students through a digital self-care platform.
This is being delivered through a partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Lagos State Government.
The pilot scheme will be available to students of the University of Lagos. They will enjoy easier and more private access to essential health products, accurate information, and professional support.
Young Nigerians face some of the highest rates of unintended pregnancy and unmet need for contraception in the world.
Cost, distance, stigma, misinformation, and fears about confidentiality routinely stop students from seeking the products and guidance they need, with consequences that include unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, sexually transmitted infections and interrupted education.
The self-care platform is designed to remove each of these barriers. Through the platform, students receive free contraceptives and other sexual and reproductive health commodities provided through the Lagos State Ministry of Health and UNFPA, exclusive discounts on health essentials, and fast, discreet delivery directly to campus and student hostels.
Students can also access trusted sexual and reproductive health information and services through UNFPA’s SoftLife 247 and U-Plan platforms. Through U-PLAN, they can chat directly with qualified Family Planning Service Providers to receive accurate information and address their concerns. They can also confidently engage with GoMed’s registered pharmacists for confidential, judgement-free guidance on medicines and other health products.
“Students should be able to get reliable health information and essential products without cost, distance or fear of judgement becoming barriers.
“This platform brings free sexual and reproductive health commodities, other affordable health products and professional guidance together, with discreet delivery directly to students on campus,” the chief executive of GoMed Nigeria, Mr Anthony Edeki, said.
Also speaking, UNFPA in Nigeria Resident Representative, Muriel Mafico, said, “As the UN agency mandated for “Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights”, we are committed to reducing preventable maternal deaths and addressing the unmet need for family planning, including by providing and overseeing access to life-saving commodities worldwide.
“Working alongside our partners, we’re helping roll out the digital Self-Care Platform—so that vital, life-changing information can reach more people, more easily. Together, we want to empower Nigeria’s next generation to make informed health choices and achieve stronger health outcomes and a brighter future.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A financing framework to accelerate the electrification of health facilities nationwide has been approved by the federal government.
The approval was announced at the third meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee (IMSC) of the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative (NPHI), a presidential programme jointly coordinated by the Federal Ministries of Power and Health and Social Welfare.
The committee was constituted to ensure reliable electricity in at least 30 per cent of Nigeria’s health facilities by the end of 2027.
At the meeting, chaired by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Mr Isiaq Salako, and co-chaired by the Minister of Power, Mr Joseph Tegbe, members of the Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC) presented the recommendations under consideration.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr Salako said the Steering Committee approved a financing framework to mobilise investment for healthcare electrification, alongside a facility energy management framework requiring participating hospitals to build sustainable systems for managing their energy infrastructure.
He said the committee also cleared eight (8) private sector proposals for further engagement, drawn from about 70 submissions received during the National Healthcare Electrification Investor Matchmaking Week in Lagos.
The Health Minister added that Energy Management Teams are already in place at federal tertiary hospitals, with state governments being encouraged to set up similar structures. The initiative will now be institutionalised through dedicated budgetary provisions and a full-time Project Coordination Unit to oversee implementation.
On his part, Mr Tegbe declared that the initiative must now move from announcements to actual project delivery.
Describing the NPHI as one of the President Bola Tinubu administration’s flagship programmes, he said the emphasis should shift towards commissioning completed projects that Nigerians can see for themselves, rather than further groundbreaking ceremonies and public messaging.
He emphasised the need for teaching hospitals, state hospitals, and primary healthcare centres to be fully energised, noting that the Rural Electrification Agency has already energised 5 Federal Teaching Hospitals and several other health facilities nationwide.
He also tied the initiative directly to patient outcomes, arguing that dependable power would end hospitals’ reliance on emergency generators, and pledged that the Ministry would continue to prioritise the initiative’s funding needs while ensuring value for money.
