Last week, we were honored to join a recent landmark convening on scaling digital health innovations in Lagos State—celebrating the next chapter for the Pathway to Malaria Pre-Elimination and Digitization Project, and the launch of a groundbreaking new program to expand access to tuberculosis diagnostics.
This has been an extraordinary partnership that has shown what’s possible when government, private sector, public health stakeholders, and communities unite around a shared vision of quality healthcare. When a government chooses to invest its own resources into a program like this, it means we’ve built something that works, something that’s sustainable, something we can continue to build on.
Through the Pathway Project, we surpassed our goal of 75,000 patients reached through more than 500 community pharmacies and PPMVs. By bringing quality diagnostics and strong data systems to the private sector, we helped reveal the true scope of malaria in Lagos and confirmed its status as a malaria elimination zone.
Now we’re applying those successes to tackle tuberculosis. Lagos accounts for 9% of Nigeria’s TB burden, and more than 66% of cases go undiagnosed each year. By using the same digitally enabled pharmacy network—now equipped with a new test by PlusLife that makes it possible for pharmacies to diagnose TB on-site—we’re working to close these gaps by meeting people where many first seek care.
Lagos State’s Honourable Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said it best: “By decentralizing precise TB diagnostics into communities, particularly in high-burden areas, we will leverage existing digital infrastructure, referral pathways, and integrated financing mechanisms to identify missed cases and link patients seamlessly to care.”
None of this would be possible without the leadership of His Excellency Gov. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, Hon. Commissioner Prof. Akin Abayomi, and the entire Lagos State Ministry of Health — as well as our partners at the World Health Organization, World Bank, Gates Foundation, and the Federal Ministry of Health including the National Malaria Elimination Programme and the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme.
From malaria elimination to TB innovation, we have the tools, the systems, and most importantly, the partnerships to keep expanding impact. Here’s to the next chapter!
