Lagos Embarks on 9-Month Health Digitalisation Drive
Lagos is on the cusp of a healthcare revolution. The state government has announced an ambitious plan to fully digitalise its public health sector within the next six to nine months, a move aimed at transforming patient care, data management, and operational efficiency across hospitals and clinics.
Speaking at the launch of the Data Science and Medical Image Analysis Training for Improved Healthcare Delivery in Nigeria (DATICAN) and the unveiling of a new High Performance Computing Facility at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Professor Akin Abayomi, Lagos State’s Commissioner for Health, framed the initiative as a strategic pivot from manual processes to smart, technology-driven healthcare operations.
At the heart of the initiative is the Smart Health Information Platform (SHIP) — a digital backbone designed to bring all public health facilities online, including general and teaching hospitals, alongside more than 300 primary healthcare centres. Already 50 % complete after 18 months of groundwork, the project is slated for full rollout by late 2026.
“Within the next six to nine months, the entire public health space will be digitalised,” Abayomi declared, highlighting the government’s commitment to modernising patient records, enhancing service delivery, and streamlining healthcare management.
The digital transformation also promises stronger data security and governance, as Lagos aligns its systems with national, continental, and global data protection standards. Sensitive health information will be safeguarded while enabling faster, more accurate decision-making across the system.
Crucial to this shift is the DATICAN programme, which is training a new generation of experts in data science and medical image analysis — disciplines critical for leveraging large-scale health data, developing predictive tools, and shaping smarter, evidence-based public health policies.
Lagos’ digital health strategy dovetails with the Nigeria Digital in Health Initiative (NDHI), a federal effort to standardise digital infrastructure in healthcare nationwide. The integration of electronic medical records, data-sharing platforms, and analytics tools will empower clinicians, enhance disease surveillance, and optimise healthcare planning.
If fully realised, Lagos’ digital health push could redefine healthcare delivery in Nigeria, positioning the state as a continental model for digitally enabled care, improving patient outcomes and setting a benchmark for the rest of Africa.
