Lagos emerges national health exemplar as stakeholders launch performance study

Lagos has been identified as one of Nigeria’s leading health system performers following a national assessment.

This was confirmed on Wednesday during the Nigeria Health System Exemplar Analysis for Action State-Level Stakeholders’ meeting in Ikeja. The meeting was for a study aimed at documenting the drivers of the state’s health sector successes.

The meeting was convened under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and Development Governance International (DGI) Consult, with support from the Gates Foundation and other partners. It brought together government officials, development partners, researchers, private sector leaders and healthcare stakeholders to examine reforms, innovations and interventions that contributed to improved health outcomes in Lagos between 2013 and 2023.

At the meeting, Akin Abayomi, Lagos Commissioner for Health, described the initiative as a valuable opportunity for objective assessment, reflection and learning, noting that periodic reviews were necessary to determine whether health systems were moving in the right direction and achieving intended outcomes.

Abayomi said Lagos was honoured to be selected for the study, stressing that the state’s health sector achievements could only be fully understood by examining the entire healthcare ecosystem, particularly the private sector, which accounts for the majority of healthcare services accessed by residents.

He emphasised that the government’s role extends beyond managing public hospitals to providing policy direction, legislation, regulation, public enlightenment and an enabling environment for private sector participation, adding that effective collaboration between both sectors remains critical to improving healthcare delivery.

He further highlighted the state’s investments in health infrastructure, workforce development, disease surveillance, biosecurity, digital health, public-private partnerships, health insurance, maternal and child healthcare, mental health and preventive medicine, reiterating the State’s vision of becoming a leading healthcare destination in Africa.

Gafar Alawode, managing partner, Development Governance International (DGI) Consult, said Lagos earned its place among the selected exemplar states because of clear evidence showing remarkable progress in health outcomes, service coverage and mortality reduction over time.

According to him, the project seeks not only to identify high-performing states but also to understand the policies, strategies, leadership approaches and implementation mechanisms responsible for their success, with the ultimate goal of enabling other states to replicate proven interventions.

Presenting an overview of the study, Simisola Alabi, Lagos State lead for the Exemplar Research Project, explained that the initiative was designed to investigate why some Nigerian states perform better than others in health outcomes and how successful approaches could be adapted nationwide.

Alabi noted Lagos emerged as an exemplar state after a comprehensive analysis of national health indicators, including child mortality, severe stunting and service coverage metrics, which showed that the State consistently outperformed expectations while recording sustained improvements in key health indicators.