FG Strengthens Health Sector With Digitalization of Systems and Operations
The federal government of Nigeria, through its Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative has launched an audacious digitalization of the Nation’s health systems and operations for greater efficiency and accountability. With the support of Health Information System Agency (HISA), the federal government unveiled a ground- breaking digital innovation tool, the Automated National Standing Order (NSOs) Mobile Application developed by the Community Health Practitioners Registration Board of Nigeria (CHPRBN).
Speaking at the unveiling which was held on Thursday, October 23, 2025, at the Nicon Luxury hotel, Abuja, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said digitalization offers the opportunity to empower health professionals with the tools and skills for quality, evidence based care and to strengthen primary health care as the cornerstone of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s universal health coverage agenda. He added that the event represents a tangible movement in demonstrating that innovation, regulation, and collaboration can converge to transform lives and communities.
“The National Standing Orders (NSOs) remains one of Nigeria’s most strategic health policy instruments, a legal and professional framework that empowers Community Health Practitioners (CHPs) to provide standardized, safe, and effective clinical interventions at the grassroots level. By automating the NSOs into a mobile, interactive digital platform, CHPRBN has elevated this tool from a static document into a real- time decision support system. This innovation will improve diagnostic accuracy and treatment timeliness, enhance data traceability and accountability through audit trails, facilitate continuous professional learning and compliance monitoring; and ultimately, save lives especially in hard-to-reach communities where CHPs serves as the first point of care.
“This is a bold and forward-thinking innovation to better harness the contribution of community health workers in line with the 2017 decision of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government to prioritize, the training, recruitment and integration of CHWs into the Africa health systems. For us in Nigeria, this is an important instrument in ensuring that no one is left behind on the journey towards health equity. The CHPRBN Mobile NSO Application is thus more than a regulatory tool, it is a policy instrument for service delivery optimization, a symbol of inter-agency synergy, and a digital bridge connecting national health priorities to community-level impact”, Salako noted.
He said the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare recognizes that digital health innovations is a veritable pathway to secure the present and ring fence the system for the future.
“Our health reform architecture is being fast-tracked by the deployment of digital technology for our core functions including policy formulation, professional regulation, service delivery, and data management. Our resolve is to continue working closely with all relevant stakeholders in order to mainstream digital innovation across department and agencies of the ministry, standardize data governance, institutionalise performance based reward system and ensure interoperability.”
