NigComSat, MyStartMedic sign MoU to deliver digital health services to Nasarawa, Yobe, others
The Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat) Limited, on Monday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MyStartMedic, under the UNICCON Group, to deliver medical services and solutions to rural communities in
The Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat) Limited, on Monday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MyStartMedic, under the UNICCON Group, to deliver medical services and solutions to rural communities in Nigeria.
The Programme, which falls under the National Primary Health Care Access and Digital Care Initiatives (N-PHACDI), is part of the components of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) health programmes for rural communities.
According to the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of MyStartMedic, Prof Chuks Ekwueme, the pilot study for the MoU would cover two communities in Nasarawa State, where patients would enjoy medical services/solutions for ailments in Primary Health Centres closer to them.
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The MoU, signed at the UNICCON Group Office in Mabushi, Abuja, would also extend to Yobe, Borno, and Zamfara states.
Speaking on the MoU, Prof Ekwueme said NigComSat's Satellite Services would be needed to connect rural areas in Nigeria with medical solutions and services to reduce costs and save the lives of citizens in the grassroots.
He said patients would have access to Primary Health Care Centres within their communities for medical consultations with metro doctors, while digital solutions and gadgets to aid their treatments have been deployed to such Centres.
He said the idea is to close medical gaps, reduce infant and adult mortality rates, improve rural access to health care, and ensure affordability, stressing that various products have been developed to ensure seamless delivery of smart/digital solutions and medical services to Nigerians.
In her remarks, the Managing Director/CEO of NigComSat, Mrs Jane Egerton-Idehen, said the MoU was a milestone in Africa's digital economic ecosystem as it would improve inclusiveness and connectivity for rural communities.
Egerton-Idehen said since digital transformation is a cardinal programme of the present administration, NigComSat would play its key role in ensuring the deployment of Satellite facilities to cover rural health care, agriculture, logistics, and education, among others.
She noted that deploying Satellite systems can provide digital services to all of Nigeria's rural communities, emphasising this as an inclusive way to meet citizens' needs there.
She said the MoU is a component of the Space Accelerated Programme, designed as NigComSat Cohort 3, which will launch in March to address challenges in remote communities and bring government services to the rural dwellers.
