It’s exciting to see how clinical research processes will be more streamlined as technology continues to evolve.
If we compare clinical research in Nigeria before the 21st century to that of today, there’s a wide gap in how research is being conducted and regulated.
Technology has truly changed the game, enhancing feasibility assessment, improving patient recruitment and retention, promoting diversity and inclusion, and streamlining data management and accessibility.
One of the most noticeable shifts in Nigerian healthcare is the rise of telemedicine, which gained significant momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic and rapidly accelerated the adoption of digital health solutions.
Clinical Research in Nigeria Today
The registration of trials reported on the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) by WHO from 1999 to mid-2024 shows that Nigeria has registered a total of 1,185 trials. While this reflects a growing interest and activity in clinical research within the country, it represents a relatively small share of the global clinical trials during the same period.
For a clinical trial to run smoothly, it must adhere to an approved plan (the Protocol), comply with Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines, and meet all applicable regulatory requirements.
In Nigeria, NAFDAC plays an important role by inspecting trial sites to make sure studies are done correctly, participants are safe, and data integrity is maintained. The agency also maintains a database of registered clinical trials to promote transparency and oversight.
The National Health Research Ethics Committee (NHREC) must review and approve every clinical research study in Nigeria.
While notable progress has been made, we still face challenges, like limited funds, difficulty in patient recruitment, regulatory delays, low public awareness of clinical trials, and sometimes, underrepresentation of diverse populations in study cohorts.
Nigeria is at a pivotal point in its healthcare journey, with a growing population, increasing health demands, and huge gaps in access to care.
At United Clinical Trials Support Services(UCTSS), we advocate for bold, early-stage innovation that tackles these core healthcare problems while also creating economic opportunities.
How Technology is Changing Healthcare Access in Nigeria
A key driver of high-quality healthcare is the adoption of technologies that empower healthcare professionals to deliver effective and efficient patient care.
Key technologies that are set to drive big improvements in both research and healthcare delivery:
AI Diagnostics:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not here to replace human expertise in clinical trials; instead, it makes complex processes easier to handle. By simplifying complex processes such as protocol development, version control, eligibility assessment, and data verification, AI serves as a powerful support tool that improves efficiency and accuracy across the clinical trial lifecycle.
AI has moved from an interesting idea to a core part of modern healthcare.
Bringing AI into the Nigerian healthcare system can improve how accurate our diagnoses are and enable earlier disease detection. However, despite AI’s promising advances, limited access to high-quality data remains a key challenge.
Electronic Health Records (EHR):
Nigeria is gradually starting to appreciate electronic medical recording systems, or EMRs. EMRs give healthcare professionals instant access to a patient’s full medical history, past diagnoses, treatments, medications, and lab results. Unlike old paper records, EMRs ensure that all important patient information is readily available when it is needed.
For example, if you visited the hospital with a headache, your medical file could instantly be accessed, allowing healthcare providers to build on your existing history rather than starting the diagnosis from scratch. This is one of many benefits of Electronic Health Records (EHRs).
Nigeria’s healthcare system is ready to adopt EMRs. However, there are still quite a few challenges to fully and effectively using EMRs, including infrastructure limitations, financial constraints, lack of skilled personnel, and resistance to change, which are similar to other developing nations.
Big Data Integration:
This allows for “personalized medicine,” which means treatments designed specifically for African populations. We can track an individual’s health journey from birth to adulthood and beyond. Imagine how many people you could track across decades, gathering rich health data from birth to their current age. That’s valuable information!
This forms the foundation for personalized medicine, precise diagnoses, and AI-driven healthcare changes. Healthtech startups like UCTSS are at the forefront, building solid databases of clinical information to better understand disease trends unique to African populations.
By bringing together diverse datasets, including genetic, environmental, and disease-related factors, we can deliver more accurate, timely, and community-specific health solutions that truly reflect the needs of our populations.
Telemedicine:
This simply means diagnosing and treating patients from a distance using communication technology. It extends care to areas that don’t have good access to medical facilities, through mobile devices and digital platforms.
Telemedicine would greatly benefit Nigeria’s healthcare system, especially in emergencies, by filling the gap where modern resources are scarce. It’s a vital role, and we need to take various steps to ensure it lasts as a key healthcare tool in the country.
Unfortunately, due to weak infrastructure and high internet costs, telemedicine is least likely to be available in rural areas, where the poorest people need it most. Also, limited government support and low awareness among many patients and healthcare professionals continue to hinder widespread adoption
In Nigeria, medical consultations predominantly occur in hospitals, which, unfortunately, leads to higher mortality rates because of significant delays in accessing these facilities.
Telemedicine presents a transformative solution by bringing timely medical advice and intervention closer to patients, especially in remote or underserved areas.
IoT and Wearable Devices:
Smart health devices are changing how we think about personal well-being, especially here in Nigeria. They can improve how we manage medicine stock in rural clinics. Data collected from these devices can be sent directly to medical professionals, enabling more personalized and proactive treatment plans.
Given the high cost of healthcare, largely due to the need for hospitalization, IoT (Internet of Things) solutions offer a practical alternative.
Remote monitoring through IoT devices can reduce the burden on hospitals by allowing continuous tracking of patient health from home, which lowers healthcare costs and facilitates early detection and intervention, as real-time health data is shared with caregivers before conditions escalate to critical levels.
Data Analytics and Population Health Management:
The role of data analytics in transforming healthcare cannot be overstated. By analyzing large datasets, we can improve how healthcare systems operate, reduce inefficiencies, and make more informed decisions about resource allocation. In population health management, data-driven insights help ensure that patients receive the right level of care at the right time, reducing unnecessary hospital visits and improving overall outcomes.
In clinical research, data is everything. That’s why, at UCTSS, we’ve focused on our local context and we built UCTMS, a locally tailored Clinical Trial Management System that brings all the essential parts of a clinical trial into one integrated platform.
Technology has huge potential to transform healthcare, making patient care better and improving health systems overall. However, we must carefully consider the ethical, regulatory, and privacy aspects to make sure everyone has fair access and patients remain safe.
How Clinical Research Transforms Nigeria’s Healthcare
The goal is to make clinical trials more efficient, accurate, and inclusive. This means optimizing drug development processes to serve diverse patient populations better and produce more reliable data.
The major problem for Nigeria’s healthcare system, as highlighted by the World Health Organization, is the insufficient and uneven distribution of health professionals. There are only about 1.95 health workers per ten thousand people.
This means that many more people need healthcare than we have qualified staff to provide it,
With clinical research and technology working hand-in-hand, Nigeria’s healthcare system is set for significant progress over the next ten years. This can be achieved through:
- Better Treatments for Local Health Issues:
Conducting more local clinical trials in key therapeutic areas can close Nigeria’s critical research gaps. This expands treatment options, attracts investment, and develops a clinical research ecosystem that addresses local health needs.
- Smarter, Data-Driven Health Policies:
Technology presents an opportunity to conduct real-world evidence (RWE) studies in Nigeria. We are at a kairos moment; though our health data is currently fragmented and underutilized, it holds untapped value. By organizing and systematically analyzing this data, we can unlock insights that will revolutionize patient care, inform policy, and accelerate research.
- Stronger Primary Healthcare:
Mobile technology and AI tools can help us test new health approaches right at the local health center level.
- Support for Local Startups:
Clinical trials are not just for big pharmaceutical companies. Healthtech startups can use trials to prove their products work and attract investors. The recent Healthcap Africa report shows growing interest in African healthtech, but having local evidence is still important.
- Building a Skilled Workforce:
As clinical research continues to grow, we’ll need more trained professionals. This means more jobs, more training opportunities, and long-term growth for the country. Nigeria can improve its healthcare, reduce the “brain drain“, and stabilize its health system by becoming a research hub in Africa.
- More Efficient and Inclusive Clinical Research:
Inclusive research means creating protocols that consider all human populations. We need to design research projects from scratch to include everyone, especially groups often left out.
What Needs to Happen Next
- We need to encourage collaboration between researchers and tech founders.
- Invest in digital tools like eConsent systems (electronic consent), remote data collection tools, and Electronic Medical Records (EMRs).
- Make regulatory approvals simpler and faster, and more transparent.
- Strengthen how we monitor drug safety (pharmacovigilance) and standardize how we track and report issues.
- Make Nigeria a top choice for global clinical trials.
- Explore new areas for treatment, not just focusing on malaria and sickle cell, but looking into other areas with both business and health potential.
Nigeria is at a turning point. By having clinical research and technology work together, we have a real chance to build a health system that includes everyone, is innovative, and is ready for the future
Reference
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