The founder, Brain Centre for Neurocritical and Rehabilitation Services, Dr Temitope Farombi, has called for a government-backed digital health platform to connect Nigerian healthcare professionals in the diaspora with patients and healthcare workers in the country.

Farombi, a Consultant Neurologist at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, said the platform would enable doctors abroad to provide virtual consultations, offer guidance on complex cases and support local practitioners without necessarily returning home.

She also advocated wider adoption of telemedicine to bridge the gap between rural health centres and specialist facilities in urban areas, noting that patients in underserved communities often travel long distances to access specialist care.

“A government-backed digital health platform could enable doctors abroad to provide virtual consultations and support to healthcare workers and patients in Nigeria without necessarily returning physically,” she said.

Farombi, however, stressed that technology alone could not resolve the challenges facing the healthcare sector, citing the need for improved financing, infrastructure, regulation, professional standards and policy implementation.

She described Nigeria’s healthcare system as “highly fragmented”, lamenting the weak coordination among primary, secondary and tertiary facilities.

“The healthcare system in Nigeria is highly fragmented. What happens in the primary care centre is not known to what happens in the secondary care, as well as what happens in the tertiary care,” she said.

The neurologist called for stronger monitoring and enforcement of healthcare policies, improved working conditions, increased funding and modern hospital facilities to make the sector more attractive to professionals and help curb migration.

She said diaspora engagement should complement efforts to strengthen the domestic health system and called for deliberate investment in digital infrastructure and better coordination among healthcare institutions.

Farombi also urged governments at all levels to integrate brain health into public policies, describing it as critical to human capital development and economic growth.