Healthcare leaders, policymakers, regulators, investors, manufacturers, and development partners convened at the HFN-WHX Healthcare Leadership Conference 2026 to explore practical pathways for enabling market access and investment readiness as critical drivers of health system transformation in Nigeria and across Africa.
Organized by the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN) in partnership with WHX Lagos, the conference brought together more than 200 participants from across the healthcare ecosystem, both in-person and virtually, under the theme, “Enabling Market Access and Investment Readiness to Drive Health System Transformation.”
Discussions focused on addressing regulatory barriers, financing gaps, supply chain constraints, and system readiness challenges that continue to limit the growth and scale of healthcare innovations and investments.
Speaking at the conference, President of HFN and Country Director of PharmAccess, Mrs. Njide Ndili, emphasized the need for stronger alignment across the healthcare ecosystem.
“Nigeria’s healthcare sector holds significant potential for innovation, investment, and local growth. However, unlocking that potential requires stronger alignment between policy, capital, market access, and implementation capacity. The time has come to move from dialogue to coordinated action, from innovation to scale, and from opportunity to impact.”
Delivering the keynote address and officially declaring the conference open, the Honourable Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for healthcare investment and innovation.
“Nigeria is open for healthcare investment. Our hospitals need the very best in diagnostic equipment, therapeutic technologies, and digital health infrastructure, and we are determined to ensure that innovation ultimately reaches the patients who need it most.”
The Minister highlighted ongoing reforms and investments within the health sector, including the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp), the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), and major investments in diagnostic, oncology, and cardiac care infrastructure aimed at strengthening healthcare delivery and expanding access to quality care across the country.
Representing the Lagos State Government, the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, underscored the importance of health sovereignty and expanding health insurance coverage as a pathway to attracting investment into the healthcare sector.
He noted that increasing access to health insurance would strengthen purchasing power, reduce reliance on out-of-pocket spending, stimulate demand for healthcare services, and create the conditions necessary for greater private-sector investment and sustainable growth.
Providing a continental perspective, Prof. Aliko Ahmed, Special Regional Representative of the Director-General, West Africa Regional Coordinating Centre (RCC), Africa CDC, emphasized the critical role of quality, trust, and local manufacturing in strengthening Africa’s health security and sovereignty agenda.
“Quality opens markets. It is a passport to market access,” he said, while highlighting Africa CDC’s efforts to promote regulatory harmonization, pooled procurement mechanisms, and stronger local manufacturing ecosystems across the continent.
Prof. Ahmed further noted that Africa’s long-term health security depends on strengthening domestic production capacity, reducing dependency on external supply chains, and fostering meaningful partnerships between governments, investors, manufacturers, innovators, and the private sector.
A high-level panel discussion titled “Winning in Nigeria: Market Entry, Scale, and Partnerships” brought together industry leaders and investment experts to examine practical strategies for scaling healthcare businesses, attracting investment, navigating regulatory requirements, and building sustainable partnerships. Moderated by Dr. Jennifer Anyanti, MD, SFH Advisory & Professional Services Limited and 2nd Vice President of HFN, the discussions reinforced the importance of quality, compliance, governance, investment readiness, and market intelligence in driving healthcare growth and innovation.
During the panel discussion, Dr. Peter Kwame Yeboah, Executive Director of the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG), highlighted quality as a critical enabler of market access and sustainable growth. Drawing from CHAG’s experience across more than 375 health facilities, he noted that investments in quality improvement led to increased patient utilization, stronger client retention, improved revenues, and greater investor confidence.
“Quality is the credential for market entry. Quality builds trust, and trust is the biggest social capital any healthcare organization can earn,” he said.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Benson Ayodele-Cole, First Vice President of HFN, noted that the conference had identified four critical barriers requiring urgent attention: regulatory barriers, financing gaps, supply chain and local capacity constraints, and limited system readiness.
He reaffirmed HFN’s commitment to continuing stakeholder engagement and advancing practical solutions that move the healthcare sector from discussion to implementation.
“The objective is not simply to continue the conversation, but to drive real action that improves market access, strengthens investment readiness, and accelerates health system transformation,” he said.
The conference concluded with a renewed commitment among stakeholders to deepen collaboration, strengthen healthcare value chains, mobilize investment, and accelerate the adoption of innovative solutions that improve healthcare access and outcomes for Nigerians.
The Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN) is the umbrella organization and principal voice of the private healthcare sector in Nigeria. HFN works to promote public-private collaboration, improve healthcare delivery, and create an enabling environment for sustainable growth and investment across the healthcare ecosystem.
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