The health of a nation is inseparable from its economic strength. In From Wearables to Womb Care: The Tech Revolution in Health, Ijedimma Okafor argues that technology is no longer a peripheral tool but a national imperative, offering Nigeria both a chance to save lives and to reinforce long-term economic resilience. She frames health not as a social cost but as the foundation of productivity, competitiveness, and growth. Where many discussions about healthtech stay on the surface; devices, apps, and hype, she probes deeper.
She highlights the systemic fractures that undermine Nigeria’s health sector, from uneven access and affordability crises to counterfeit drugs and fragile infrastructure, and shows how technology can be embedded in ways that balance sustainability with adaptability. Her thesis is stark but clear: innovation without integration collapses; integration without flexibility stagnates. For healthcare to deliver value at scale, it must embody both.
The national implications of this shift are far-reaching. She underscores that healthier citizens mean fewer economic shocks, fewer school dropouts from preventable illnesses, stronger labor productivity, and reduced public spending on emergency responses.
Every incremental improvement in patient outcomes reverberates into the economy, protecting national output while expanding the capacity for innovation across other sectors. “Nigeria cannot industrialize with a sick workforce,” notes Dr. Chinedu Alaka, a Lagos-based biotech entrepreneur. “Health is not only about hospitals—it is the infrastructure that sustains agriculture, education, technology, and trade. Without it, national competitiveness collapses before it even begins.”
Her frameworks are already influencing practice. From maternity wards in Port Harcourt where digital pathways are piloting maternal care reforms, to Abuja policy circles where health financing is being reimagined, to state-level programs using her models to expand maternal and child health, the ripple effect is visible.
Private hospitals are borrowing her patient flow strategies, while development partners have begun to embed her principles into larger economic diversification plans. By linking healthcare systems design to economic design, she demonstrates that each hospital upgrade is not only a health gain but a productivity boost, every reduced waiting time an investment in national output.
Her approach does not stop at critique. She proposes practical strategies that Nigeria can deploy immediately: blockchain-enabled traceability to counter fake drugs, AI-driven diagnostics to close the gap in medical talent, wearable devices that emphasize prevention over treatment, and telemedicine that reduces travel costs for rural patients. These strategies are not imported ideals but frameworks shaped by Nigerian realities, tested within its institutions, and aligned with cultural contexts. They are designed not just for today’s crises but for tomorrow’s resilience.
What makes From Wearables to Womb Care compelling is how it reframes resilience itself. Transformation in healthcare, Okafor argues, is not about chasing the latest gadget but about embedding adaptable systems that evolve alongside the needs of patients, hospitals, and entire industries. By situating healthcare innovation at the heart of national transformation, she demonstrates with conviction that building healthier citizens is inseparable from building a stronger Nigeria.
This book is not just a healthtech guide, it is a strategic playbook for governments, entrepreneurs, and clinicians who understand that the future of the economy rests on the strength of its care systems.
