Nigeria Governors' Forum, partners unveil plans to scale 8 health innovations
- The Nigeria Governors' Forum and Grand Challenges Nigeria scheduled a joint meeting in Abuja for Friday, November 13, 2026
- Eight maternal, newborn and child health projects backed by Grand Challenges Nigeria will be showcased at the event
- State governments, research teams, development partners and financing stakeholders are expected to attend the one-day exchange
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Abuja, FCT - The Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF) and Grand Challenges Nigeria (GCNg) will, on Friday, November 13, 2026, hold their Annual Meeting and Innovation Exchange in Abuja, where stakeholders will examine how locally led health research can move from testing to practical use across Nigeria.
The event will take place at Lake Greenfield Hotel and will draw together state governments, research institutions, development partners and financing bodies to discuss pathways for adopting and scaling evidence-based health innovations nationwide.
Source: UGC
Eight Projects to Feature at the Exchange
Eight projects backed by Grand Challenges Nigeria, all targeting maternal, newborn and child health, will be presented at the meeting. The projects cover a range of challenges including newborn sepsis diagnosis, umbilical cord care, community-based digital healthcare, emergency maternal referral systems, birth-defect identification, perinatal asphyxia research, digital risk support, and tools for predicting severe pre-eclampsia.
The theme of the event, "Innovation to Impact: Evidence, Adoption, Uptake and Scale for Better Health in Nigeria," signals a focus on what it takes to bring proven research tools into actual healthcare delivery, including the institutional decisions, policy commitments and financing arrangements needed to support scale.
The African University of Science and Technology will run a Policy Lab at the meeting, concentrating on the institutional steps required to move research into practice.
NGF's Role and the Wider Platform
The NGF's participation is expected to inject state-level priorities into the discussions, given that state governments are the primary actors in delivering healthcare services across the country. Peer learning between states is also expected to feature as part of the programme.
Grand Challenges Nigeria was launched in November 2024 as a platform for supporting Nigerian-led research and innovation in health and food security. The initiative is anchored by the Nutrition Society of Nigeria and runs in partnership with the Office of the Vice President and the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology. It receives support from the Gates Foundation, with technical assistance from the Science for Africa Foundation, and is part of the broader global Grand Challenges network.
The organisers noted that the November 13 meeting is intended to help identify what additional evidence, institutional engagement and financing would be needed before promising innovations can advance to their next stage of development. Attendance will be by invitation only. Media organisations interested in coverage or interviews can reach the Grand Challenges Nigeria secretariat through Godwin A. Bamsa at godwin.gcng@nutritionnigeria.org or by calling +234 907 301 8659.
Telecom Networks Reshape Nigerian Healthcare With Remote Surgery
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported how, across Nigeria, telecommunications networks are changing how quickly people access medical help, connecting households to services that once required long journeys, costly delays and anxious waiting. One of the most striking examples came on September 19, 2026. According to the account of the procedure, a surgeon at Redeemer’s Health Village in Mowe, Ogun state, remotely removed a cancerous kidney from a patient at Nisa Premier Hospital in Abuja, more than 500 kilometres away.
The operation illustrates a wider shift: connectivity is becoming an increasingly important part of healthcare delivery, from specialist treatment to everyday consultations.
The procedure was led by Prof. Obi Ekwenna-Davis, a professor of urology and transplantation and co-founder of RoboMed Global, working with both hospitals. From a robotic console in Mowe, his hand movements were transmitted through a data connection to equipment in the Abuja operating theatre.
Source: Legit.ng
