The Minister of State for Health, Dr Isiaq Salako, has urged medical practitioners to embrace technology, continuous professional development and preventive healthcare to improve healthcare delivery.
Salako gave the advice on Thursday in Abeokuta while speaking at the 2026 Physicians’ Week organised by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Ogun State chapter.
Represented by Dr Sunday Amosu, Acting Provost, Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Salako stressed the need for doctors to improve their skills and adapt to technological advancements in the health sector.
The minister also urged medical practitioners to prioritise their health through regular medical check-ups, healthy eating and lifestyle modifications.
“It is important for doctors to improve their skills and adapt to technological advancement in the health sector.
“Also, mental health and preventive healthcare should receive greater attention in efforts to improve public health and reduce the burden of diseases,” he said.
Salako urged doctors to establish relationships with personal physicians and seek professional medical advice regularly rather than neglecting their health.
The minister said lifestyle choices play a significant role in preventing non-communicable diseases, urging Nigerians to eat more vegetables and maintain balanced diets.
Salako explained that eating fruits and vegetables of different colours helps provide the body with essential nutrients needed to maintain good health.
The minister stressed that healthcare professionals must take responsibility for their wellbeing to remain effective in providing quality services to patients.
He urged doctors to lead by example by embracing healthy lifestyles and promoting preventive healthcare among their patients and the wider population.
In her speech, Dr Tomi Coker, Ogun Commissioner for Health, urged medical practitioners to embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI), telemedicine and other technological innovations to improve healthcare delivery.
Coker noted that technology is already shaping the future of medicine, urging doctors to integrate AI into their professional practice.
“The future of medicine is here already, and we have to embrace technology. AI should be like your pen,” she said.
The commissioner explained that telemedicine would reduce stress and improve access to medical consultations by enabling doctors to attend to patients remotely without unnecessary physical movement.
She said prioritising personal well-being, embracing technology and mentoring younger medical practitioners were essential to securing the future of the profession.
Earlier, the state NMA chairman, Dr Sunday Enimola, said it was important to consciously secure, deliberately shape and courageously defend the future of medicine in Nigeria.
“Technology should never replace the doctor, it should empower the doctor. It should be tool in the hands of the doctor,” he said.
In his lecture, Dr Raymond Osho, the guest lecturer, noted that honesty of purpose was important in the development of the health sector in the country.
Osho spoke on the topic, “Securing the Future of Medicine in Nigeria”
He emphasised that the future of medicine goes beyond building or construction, noting that accountability on the part of government and professionals remains key.
