FG urges China-Africa health partnership beyond equipment supply

 The Federal Government has urged China and African countries to deepen health cooperation beyond medical equipment supply to sustainable capacity development.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, made the call at the China International Medical Equipment Exhibition and Scientific Conference, China-Hospeq 2026 holding in Beijing, China.

Salako said sustainable health-system transformation required appropriate technologies, skilled personnel, maintenance systems and quality assurance alongside investments in medical equipment.

“Experience has shown that sustainable health-system transformation cannot be achieved simply by providing equipment.

“We must also ensure that equipment are appropriate to our context, that health workers are adequately trained, that systems for maintenance and quality assurance are established, and that technology can be integrated into resilient national health systems,” he said.

Salako said Nigeria welcomed deeper collaboration with China in medical equipment, hospital development, clinical engineering, laboratory medicine, diagnostics, digital health and artificial intelligence.

Other priority areas, he said, included research and innovation, health workforce development, technology transfer, knowledge exchange and local manufacturing.

The minister said stronger partnerships were also needed in value-chain development, health emergency preparedness and global health security.

Salako said Nigeria particularly welcomed the growing emphasis on China-Africa health cooperation and initiatives promoting practical institution-to-institution collaboration.

He said the China-Africa Hospital Collaborative Development initiative offered opportunities to strengthen health systems through sustained cooperation between institutions.

“The establishment of the China-Africa Hospitals Alliance and the growing network of joint working groups demonstrate the potential for practical, institution-to-institution cooperation,” he said.

Salako said such partnerships could deliver sustainable benefits to health systems when structured around local needs, capacity building and long-term institutional development.

He said Nigeria-China health cooperation had continued to expand, creating opportunities in hospital development, medical technology, diagnostics, digital health, research and health workforce development.

He added that collaboration through joint ventures in pharmaceutical manufacturing, medical equipment procurement and maintenance, and specialised training was opening new frontiers.

Salako said Nigeria was undertaking reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to transform the health sector and improve healthcare delivery.

He identified strengthening primary healthcare, expanding access to quality and affordable services, and improving diagnostics and specialised care as key priorities.

The minister said the country was also accelerating digital health transformation, strengthening its health workforce and promoting local production of medicines, medical devices and diagnostics.

He said achieving those objectives required increased investment, stronger institutions, innovative technologies, sustainable financing, skilled personnel and strategic international partnerships.

“International platforms such as China-Hospeq provide valuable opportunities to identify technologies and innovations that are appropriate, affordable, scalable and responsive to our health system needs,” Salako said.

He said Nigeria-China strategic relations had created opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation capable of supporting the country’s efforts to build a more resilient health system.

Salako noted that global health challenges were increasingly interconnected, requiring countries to work together to address pandemics, antimicrobial resistance and emerging infectious diseases.

He also identified non-communicable diseases, climate-related health threats and health inequalities as challenges requiring collective, sustainable and responsive action.

The minister urged participants to use China-Hospeq to develop partnerships capable of producing lasting improvements beyond the conference.

“Let us move from exhibition to implementation, from innovation to impact, and from partnership to sustainable capacity,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that China-Hospeq 2026 is the 32nd China International Medical Equipment Exhibition and Scientific Conference, bringing together stakeholders to showcase medical technologies, exchange knowledge and promote international healthcare partnerships.

The exhibition which began on Thursday will end on Saturday.(NAN)