DAI Global Health Experts Lead Discussions on Closing Nigeria’s Health Financing Gap at CCA Forum

November 08, 2018

Annie Baldridge and James McIntyre-Brown of the DAI Global Health team discussed solutions to Nigeria’s health financing gap at the Corporate Council on Africa Health Forum in Abuja, Nigeria.

At the November 7 forum, titled Bridging the Gap in Nigeria’s Healthcare System, Baldridge presented on how primary health care can be improved through private investment. She also reviewed DAI’s experience in public financial management for health in Nigeria, including DAI’s management of the Accountable, Responsive, and Capable Government project and its predecessor programs.

DAI's Annie Baldridge at the Corporate Council on Africa Health Forum in Abuja, Nigeria.

McIntyre-Brown, Health Practice Director for DAI Global Health, prepared a scan of the health sector investment environment and identified areas for investment and innovation, including private franchising of primary health care facilities. Noted Dr. Ogbe Oritsewegimi, Head of Health Financing for Nigeria’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency: “The private sector is driven by the bottom line, but in health there has to be two bottom lines—one for profit and one for the community.”

Baldridge, co-author of “Gathering the Evidence to Mobilize Domestic Resources for Health Care,” and McIntyre-Brown also joined roundtable discussions for attendees including government, business, and health industry leaders.

DAI sits on the board of the Corporate Council on Africa, which was established in 1993 and serves as a neutral, trusted intermediary connecting member firms with government and business leaders essential to doing business and succeeding in Africa. Members include African, U.S., and multinational firms invested in Africa’s most promising sectors, including agribusiness, energy, finance, health, ICT, infrastructure, security, tourism, and trade facilitation.