Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has lamented that millions of Nigerians still die from preventable diseases due to poor access to quality healthcare, warning that the country cannot afford to treat healthcare as a privilege for the wealthy.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday at the launch of the CARE 365 Health Hub, an innovation platform designed to expand affordable healthcare through smart kiosks, mobile clinics, telemedicine, and specialist doctor networks, Obasanjo described the initiative as a potential game-changer for Nigeria’s health sector.
“It was to be a fundamental right—available 365 days a year—to the child in Damaturu, the mother in Yenagoa, the farmer in Ogbomoso, and the teacher in Birnin Kebbi. That was the dream,” he said, recalling the vision of Nigeria’s founding fathers.
Obasanjo warned that “it is unacceptable that in an age of artificial intelligence and space tourism, a Nigerian child should die of malaria because her mother could not afford transport to the nearest clinic.” He urged leaders to treat healthcare access as a responsibility, not a favour.
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Former Head of State, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd), who chairs the CARE 365 board, echoed Obasanjo’s concerns, stressing that government alone cannot shoulder the burden of healthcare delivery. He praised the hub as a much-needed complement to Nigeria’s inadequate health infrastructure.
Health Minister, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate, who commissioned the hub on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, said the project aligns with government’s four-pillar health reform strategy, describing it as an opportunity for Nigeria’s healthcare system to “leapfrog into the future.”
Founded by US-based Nigerian engineer Ngozi Joseph Odumuko, CARE 365 combines Health Monitoring Kiosks, Mobile Clinics, a Telemedicine App, and a pool of local and international doctors to connect patients across Nigeria—urban and rural—to timely, affordable care.
Odumuko stressed that the system is designed to ensure no Nigerian, regardless of income or location, is left behind.