Nigeria’s medical devices market, one of the least developed on the continent is poised for growth as technology adoption in healthcare services delivery reduces cost and the middle class expands.
Medical device means any instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, appliance, implant, in vitro reagent or calibrator, software, material or other similar or related article designed by the manufacturer for diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, treatment or alleviation of disease burden.
Export.gov, a United States of America based government agency, which provides U.S companies with data and intelligence about potential markets for export estimated Nigeria’s medical equipment market was worth over $93 million in 2016 and at the current $/N368 exchange rate, the market is worth N34 billion. South Africa’s medical devices market is worth over $907 million. This leaves an investment potential of more than $814 million.
There is gradual proliferation of cost-effective medical devices targeted at rural low-income areas such as the specially adapted ultra-portable ultrasound scanners for use in remote parts of Nigeria and Kenya. Designed for rural areas where electricity supply is erratic or non-existent, these battery-operated tablet-sized devices, ten times smaller than a traditional ultrasound scanner, can be carried in a backpack by health workers visiting expectant mothers.
In Nigeria today, some infertility problems can be treated with low technology, such as going to a doctor to get medication and some basic lifestyle modification like losing weight and advice about right time for ovulation and the rest.
“However, complex technologies have been available in Nigeria since 1989 with the first test tube babies. We pioneered these efforts. Since then there are now almost 70 in vitro fertilisation (IVF) centres in Nigeria” Oladapo Ashiru, professor of Reproductive Endocrinology and Group Medical Director, MART Group of Clinics in an interview on a national television programme.
“All over the world, the global standard for IVF cost is about $5000 which translate to N2 million in Nigeria or slightly less, but most people are charging less than that maybe between N1million- N1.5 million” Ashiru added.
“Technology is reducing the cost of healthcare in many ways, ranging from how people access expert medical advice to the use of basic medical devices at home. For instance, many doctors these days have blogs or websites where they offer pieces of medical advice that in the past you needed to visit a hospital and pay some fees to access. However, this in no way takes the place of one-to-one conversation with a medical professional” said Athansius Obiadazie, a surgeon at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria.
“Hand held medical devices such as thermometers, sphygmomanometer (for blood pressure measurement) and respiratory monitors are now common in some homes, which help for early detection of malfunction. In medicine nothing is as cost effective as early detection” Obiadazie added.
Technology is helping in many other ways to cut cost in various in the medical space. It is helping reduce the cost of medical record keeping by keeping such electronically instead of printing papers. “The application of technology to medical value chain is helping reduce the cost of information sharing, such as for disease surveillance, by transmission of such information by telephone or email avoiding the need for travel or courier services” said Doyin Odubanjo, a Lagos-based public health analyst in an emailed note.
“Technology has also helped in reducing the numbers of staff needed. It has reduced the overall cost of clinical services whereby consultations with scarce specialists can be done using mobile technology without anyone, patients or the specialists needing travel” Odubanjo said.
Market demand which has remained strongest for diagnostic equipment such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computed Tomography scan (CT), Digital X-Ray, Ultrasound, Mammography and Ultrasound Scans, and other diagnostic technologies, has been strong. Major players in this market are Analogic Corporation, GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, Siemens Healthcare, and Toshiba Medical Systems.
To drive this sustained use these medical equipment, public-private partnership would be needed, a model that has become quite successful in Kenya.
Kenya’s government is one of the continent’s main buyers of medical equipment, following legislation that enables public-private partnerships. In 2015, it agreed a flagship $250m deal with General Electric (GE) Healthcare to provide 585 pieces of diagnostic imaging equipment, such as X-ray and ultrasound machines for 98 hospitals nationwide.
Unlike most other medical equipment deals in Africa, which deliver a one-off upfront payment to the supplier following a procurement tender, GE Healthcare’s Kenyan contract will provide it with a regular service fee. This covers the equipment lease, maintenance and training over seven years. GE has previously entered these old-school one-off tender deals with Algeria and Nigeria. Kenya negotiated with several commercial banks to finance its GE deal.
In an interview with the Financial Times of London, Farid Fezoua, president and chief executive of GE Healthcare Africa, said: “Countries like Nigeria, even South Africa to some extent, and Angola or Ghana are going to look at what Kenya did and say: ‘If Kenya can do that, then we can do that.”
Cost effective monitoring and lack of awareness are major challenges the industry faces in developing countries as compared to developed ones. North America is estimated to hold majority shares due to quick acceptance by consumers of technologically advanced products and their increasing demand for on-the-move diagnostic products; while Asia-Pacific is witnessing the fastest growth. Google, Nike, Apple, and Fitbit Inc. are few tech giants involved in the launch of innovative products that are predicted to boost growth.
STEPHEN ONYEKWELU & ANTHONIA OBOKOH
