The dearth of data is a critical challenge holding Nigeria back from reforming or leading in the delivery of quality and accessible healthcare, Brian Deaver, chief executive officer of the Afreximbank-backed African Medical Centre for Excellence (AMCE), has said.
Speaking at the BusinessDay Health Conference in Abuja, Deaver expressed concern that data has remained one of the most underutilised tools in Nigeria and Africa, stressing that “we cannot improve what we do not measure.”
“We cannot scale what we cannot track. And we cannot respond if we cannot predict. Data is not paperwork.
It is power. If we want to truly lead, we must embrace one of the most underutilised tools in African healthcare. And that is data”, he added.
“From patient records to disease surveillance, from performance benchmarking to predictive modelling, data must become the backbone of our health systems. We need robust digital infrastructure,” Deaver said.
Deaver warned that if Nigeria does not collect, protect and use data, others will define its health priorities.
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The AMCE Boss urged Nigeria to strive for excellence, stressing that “good enough is not an enemy of excellence”. He added, “Too often we say at least it is better than nothing.’ At least the power stayed on today. At least the patient did not die.
But health care should not be an exercise in lowered expectations. Excellence is not a foreign concept. It is not a luxury.
It is simply a decision. It is a commitment, and it is around-the-clock discipline. Excellence means fixing the leaking tap, not just the broken bone.
He further explained that excellence entails delivering care that is timely, not just available, striving for global best practice, not to impress donors, but because people deserve nothing less.
“If we want to lead, we must demand more of ourselves. It means putting our health care workers first, because only then can patients thrive. It means hospitals working closely together, not in rivalry. It means public-private collaborations that elevate the whole system, not just privileged enclaves. It means a patient experience that affirms dignity. It means data that drives decisions. And it means rejecting ‘good enough’ in our pursuit of excellence”, Deaver said.
