The Federal Government is set to lead a gathering of health leaders and key stakeholders to address the persistent gap between health policy formulation and implementation in Nigeria, with an emphasis on stronger coordination across the healthcare system to improve outcomes for citizens.
The initiative will be a major focus of the 2026 National Health Equity Conference, scheduled to hold from October 13 to 15 at the Nigeria National Merit Award House, Maitama, Abuja.
The conference, organised by OneBarrow International Limited, is themed, “From Policy to Impact: Care Coordination as the Core Engine of Health Equity.”
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, will serve as Chief Host, while the Chairman, House Committee on Health Services, Hon. Amos Gwamna Magaji, and the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, are expected to attend as Special Guests of Honour.
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The conference is expected to bring together policymakers, legislators, healthcare regulators, development partners, professional bodies, practitioners, private-sector leaders, civil society organisations, patient and community groups, as well as academic institutions to examine practical approaches to improving healthcare access, quality and continuity of care.
Speaking ahead of the event, the Chief Executive Officer of OneBarrow International Limited, Yemi Ajao, said Nigeria’s healthcare challenge was increasingly about translating existing policies and frameworks into coordinated action and improved outcomes at the point of care.
“Nigeria has developed important health policies and frameworks, but the real test is what happens when those policies reach the people and communities they are designed to serve,” Ajao said.
He said the conference was designed to bridge the implementation gap by bringing stakeholders together to focus on coordination, implementation and accountability.
According to him, effective care coordination is critical because healthcare delivery involves different professionals, institutions and levels of the health system working together around the needs of patients.
Ajao said the conference would examine how national health policies could be translated into practical implementation strategies across the federal, state and local government levels, while strengthening collaboration among doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, health administrators and other healthcare professionals.
He added that a coordinated health system would reduce fragmentation, strengthen referral pathways, improve communication and promote continuity of care.
“Every healthcare cadre has a unique and complementary role to play. The patient experiences the health system as one system, regardless of how many professionals or institutions are involved in their care.
“We therefore need systems that support collaboration rather than fragmentation, while strengthening referral pathways, communication and accountability,” he said.
The organisers said a major focus of the conference would be the link between care coordination and health equity, particularly the role of better coordination in addressing disparities in access to quality healthcare among underserved populations and communities facing barriers to navigating the health system.
Technology, data and citizen participation will also feature prominently, with participants expected to examine the use of digital feedback mechanisms, transparency, access to information and awareness of patients’ rights to strengthen accountability in healthcare delivery.
Ajao stressed the need to empower citizens to participate actively in discussions around the quality and accountability of healthcare services.
“Citizens must understand their rights, have meaningful channels to provide feedback and be empowered to participate in conversations about the quality of care they receive,” he said.
He added that a health system that listens to citizens would be better positioned to identify gaps, respond to emerging needs and continuously improve, stressing that demand-side accountability should form part of the broader health equity agenda.
The conference is expected to culminate in a formal post-conference communiqué and practical implementation roadmap aimed at generating actionable recommendations, tracking commitments, supporting policy implementation and deepening cross-sector collaboration.
The organisers said the objective was to move beyond identifying challenges in the health system to establishing practical commitments that could be implemented across different levels of healthcare delivery.
OneBarrow maintained that meaningful health reform required more than policy development, stressing that coordinated implementation, accountability and sustained collaboration were essential to translating reforms into improved health outcomes.
The organisation said it expected participants to emerge from the conference with clearer priorities, stronger partnerships and practical commitments towards building a more inclusive, resilient, coordinated and accountable healthcare system.