Democratising Health Diagnostics Through Technology, Policy, Partnership

Olayemi Dawodu

Universal Health Coverage cannot become a reality while millions of Nigerians remain without access to timely, accurate and quality diagnostic services. Until quality diagnosis reaches every community, particularly those in underserved and rural areas, equitable healthcare will remain an unfinished national agenda.

For decades, the Nigeria’s healthcare conversations have centred on hospitals, medicines, doctors and health insurance. While these are essential, they overlook a fundamental truth: every effective treatment begins with an accurate diagnosis. When diagnostic services are unavailable or unreliable, diseases are detected too late, treatment decisions are delayed or inaccurate, healthcare costs increase and lives are unnecessarily put at risk.

That is why diagnostic healthcare must move from the margins of policy discussions to the centre of Nigeria’s health reform agenda. Nigeria must place diagnostics where they belong—at the centre of national policy.

The issue is straightforward. Pathology should be democratised. Every Nigerian, whether living in a bustling city or a remote rural community, deserves access to quality diagnostic services that produce accurate, reliable and trusted results.

Democratising pathology does not mean installing sophisticated laboratory equipment in every village. It means ensuring that each community has access to technologies appropriate for its setting and capable of producing results that are validated, verified and properly calibrated. The objective is not to make every laboratory look the same but to ensure every patient has the same confidence in the diagnosis they receive.

Artificial intelligence, automation and digital diagnostic platforms are already improving laboratory medicine by reducing pressure on limited manpower, shortening turnaround times and extending specialist expertise beyond urban centres.

One innovation I strongly believe Nigeria should embrace is telepathology. As a pathologist, I see it as one of the most practical ways to tackle the unequal distribution of specialist services across the country.

For decades, specialist expertise has remained concentrated in major cities while many rural communities have had limited access to quality pathology services. Telepathology allows diagnostic samples collected in remote locations to be transmitted electronically to specialist pathologists for interpretation, removing geography as a barrier to quality diagnosis.

A simple example is cervical cancer screening. Community health workers can be trained to collect Pap smear samples, prepare and scan the slides before transmitting them digitally to specialist pathologists for reporting. A woman living in an underserved community can therefore benefit from expert diagnostic interpretation without travelling long distances in search of specialist care.

Technology alone, however, cannot transform healthcare. Expanding access to diagnostics requires collaboration that goes beyond the health sector. Telecommunications, communications infrastructure, digital technology and education all have important roles to play. If we truly want quality diagnostics to reach the last mile, this must become a coordinated national effort rather than the responsibility of healthcare institutions alone.

The next step depends on policy. Innovation changes lives only when governments create the environment that allows it to flourish. Policymakers, regulators, healthcare professionals and technology experts must work together to develop practical frameworks that support the deployment of emerging diagnostic technologies.

Encouragingly, practical examples already exist. Telemedicine kiosks developed in partnership with state and local governments are helping to bring healthcare services closer to underserved communities. They are solar-powered, operate in different languages and demonstrate that workable solutions are already available.

What they require now is stronger government support and clearer regulatory frameworks. Telemedicine policies are evolving, but they need to be accelerated so that innovation can move beyond isolated initiatives and become part of routine healthcare delivery across the country.

The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced an important lesson for me: preparedness begins long before a crisis.

Cerba-Lancet Laboratories Nigeria was able to contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s response because we had invested in molecular diagnostic capacity before the pandemic emerged. That preparedness came from listening to customer feedback, assessing future healthcare needs and making deliberate investments in people and infrastructure.

We also learnt the importance of adapting quickly. Innovation is not always about sophisticated machines. Sometimes it means making practical decisions that allow services to continue under extraordinary circumstances. Existing infrastructure was reorganised, staff capacity was strengthened and contingency planning enabled us to continue serving patients during one of the most challenging periods in recent history.

Preparedness should never be an afterthought. Ultimately, my message extends far beyond laboratory medicine. If diagnosis determines treatment, then strengthening diagnostics strengthens the entire healthcare system. Nigeria must expand telemedicine and telepathology, support validated technologies, strengthen digital infrastructure, accelerate regulatory reforms and provide sustained government backing for innovation.

The question is whether Nigeria is prepared to act with the urgency the reforms demand. Until quality diagnostics reach Nigeria’s last mile, Universal Health Coverage will remain a promise waiting to be fulfilled.

Dr. Dawodu is the MD/CEO of Cerba-Lancet Laboratories Nigeria, Anatomic, Molecular Pathologist and a laboratory physician