By Emelayo Nwosu
Former Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has called for innovative mechanisms to finance healthcare systems in Africa, stressing the need for collaborations with international organizations and development partners.
A release from the Media Office of Prof. Osinbajo said the former vice president made the call at the recent high-level roundtable on Innovative Financing Models for Africa’s Healthcare Systems in Lagos.
The release, issued by Mohammed Brimah, said the roundtable was convened by the Future Perspectives, founded by Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, in partnership with the Gates Foundation.
According to Brimah, Prof. Osinbajo emphasized the urgency of rethinking healthcare funding with increased funding from non-governmental bodies and partners.
“Government spending alone can never address the scale of the challenge,” Prof. Osinbajo said, adding that “most Nigerians continue to rely on out-of-pocket payments.”
He stressed that the goal of the roundtable was to identify “practical ways to finance healthcare through innovative and sustainable mechanisms.”
Delivery the keynote address, Nigeria’s Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Mohammed Ali Pate, represented by the National Coordinator, Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain, PVAC, Dr. Abdu Mukhtar, highlighted the scale of the access gap in the health sector.
He noted that “only 10 to 12 percent of Nigerians have health insurance.”
The minister underlined ongoing efforts to mobilize large-scale financing, stating that partnerships with institutions such as Afreximbank and the European Investment Bank are helping to unlock billions in potential investments.
Pointing out the critical gap for smaller healthcare providers, Prof. Pate noted that “there is a missing middle; many businesses need just $2–5 million to grow, but struggle to access capital.”
The Managing Director of the of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, NSIA, Sadiq Umar, represented by the MD/CEO of MedServe,Tolulope Adewole, said that “the bigger problem sits on the demand side.
He pointed out that affordability remained a key constraint in a country where a large proportion of the population lives on low incomes.
“Collaboration is what will take us out of this challenge,”Umar said, stressing that sustainable projects could attract long-term capital.
Speaking from an investor’s perspective, MD/CEO at AfyA Care Dapo Akisanya, highlighted the importance of building viable healthcare businesses, stating that “healthcare can be structured as a profitable and scalable sector.”
He noted that this, however, requires disciplined financing and ecosystem coordination.
He called for increased “impact investing and blended financing” to support growth across the value chain.
Emphasizing the role of private capital in healthcare financing, the CEO of Chapel Hill Denham, Bolaji Balogun, noted that “government funding is wholly inadequate, and private capital is essential.”
He added that healthcare requires “patient, long-term financing,” best supported by capital markets, which provide “the deepest pools of capital and transparency investors need.”
Senior Investment Officer at the International Finance Corporation, IFC, Chishamiso Mawoyo, highlighted structural challenges across Africa’s healthcare landscape, but noted that these gaps also present opportunities for investment and innovation.
He emphasized the importance of local currency financing, stating that “healthcare providers serve local populations, so financing must reflect that reality.”
From a systems perspective, Deputy Director at Gates Foundation Ekenem Isichei, stressed that “financing must translate to real impact,” cautioning that resources must deliver on “lives saved and livelihoods improved.”
He added that philanthropy should “catalyze systems that unlock capital more effectively,” especially through integrated, blended finance approaches.
Senior Health Financing Specialist at the World Bank, Dr. Olumide Okunola, underscored the foundational role of public financing, stating that “without strong public financing, everything else is limited,” and emphasized the need to reduce reliance on out-of-pocket spending.
At the closing session, Yemi Asekun, Co-Founder of Future Perspectives, reaffirmed that “capital always follows capacity and management,” noting that the next step is to translate insights from the dialogue into “practical, actionable financing models,” including potential structures for a national healthcare investment platform.
The hybrid roundtable, moderated by Serah Makka, Executive Director for Africa at ONE and a member of the Future Perspectives Board, brought together senior government officials, development finance institutions, financial institutions, investors, capital market leaders, and healthcare executives to address persistent financing gaps in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
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