The Lagos State Ministry of Health on Wednesday convened senior government officials, national programme leaders and private sector partners in Ikeja to advance a dual elimination strategy targeting malaria and tuberculosis, declaring digital innovation central to the next phase of health systems reform in the state.
The high-level meeting, held at the Lagos Marriott Hotel Ikeja in collaboration with Maisha Meds, was themed “Scaling Digital Health Innovations in Lagos – Leveraging Proven Private Sector Frameworks for National Health Security,” and focused on integrating malaria and tuberculosis elimination efforts through data-driven approaches.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Barr. Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin, said the gathering underscored the administration’s commitment to safeguarding residents’ health. He described malaria as a leading cause of illness and death, particularly among women and children, noting that the digitisation of over 400 private health providers and improved care for more than 18,000 patients demonstrate how technology can strengthen surveillance and case management. He added that while private partners enhance access and efficiency, government retains ultimate responsibility for health security and accountability.
Sanwo-Olu said the tuberculosis diagnostic access programme being introduced would help uncover missing cases and improve linkage to care. He stressed that the administration is focused on building sustainable, digitally enabled and data-driven systems that will endure beyond political cycles, urging residents to embrace early testing and support healthcare workers.
Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, described the event as both the culmination of a transformative phase and the beginning of a more ambitious reform agenda. Presenting an overview of the Lagos Malaria Pre-Elimination and Digitisation Project, he said malaria prevalence and test positivity now guide policy decisions. Community surveys show prevalence declining from 15 per cent in 2010 to 2.6 per cent in 2022, despite continued high reporting of malaria cases in health facilities — a discrepancy he termed the “malaria paradox.”
To address the gap, Abayomi said Lagos expanded surveillance into the private sector, where more than 60 per cent of residents seek care. Over 500 facilities tested more than 77,000 fever cases in 2025 using validated rapid diagnostic tests with about 98 per cent sensitivity. Following the introduction of mandatory testing before treatment, malaria positivity dropped below one per cent in March 2025 and remained between four and five per cent during peak months, confirming that about 95 per cent of fever cases in the state are not malaria-related.
Through its partnership with Maisha Meds, the state digitised 514 community pharmacies and patent medicine vendors, enabling more than 80,000 diagnostic tests and recording a malaria positivity rate of five per cent. The initiative also created a digital referral pathway for non-malaria fever cases and integrated services into the Lagos State Health Management Agency-managed care package to ensure sustainability within the state’s financing framework.
On tuberculosis, Abayomi disclosed that Lagos accounts for nine per cent of Nigeria’s TB burden, with 3,565 of an estimated 6,038 cases detected in the second quarter of 2025, leaving a significant proportion undiagnosed. To close the gap, he announced deployment of the PlusLife MiniDock, a portable non-sputum molecular diagnostic platform, through the existing digital provider network to decentralise TB testing. Stakeholders, including federal lawmakers and national programme coordinators, commended Lagos’ data-driven approach and urged other states to replicate the model. The event climaxed with the unveiling of the “End TB Now” diagnostic scale-up initiative by Governor Sanwo-Olu, marking a new phase in the state’s integrated disease elimination drive.
