By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal
The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Kwara Chapter, says the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the medical field should be utilised as a complement to human intelligence and not a replacement.
Prof. Abdulrahman Afolabi, the Chairman, NMA-Kwara, stated this at a news conference organised as part of activities commemorating 2025 Physicians’ Week.
The theme of the week is: “Healthcare as a Value Chain: Building Efficiency from Policy to Patient”.
The sub-theme is “AI, Ethics and the Physicians’ Role in Modern Healthcare”.
Afolabi, who was represented by Dr Ayinde Musa, the Acting Chairman of NMA, insisted that no algorithm could replicate the compassion, moral reasoning, and trust that define the physician-patient relationship.
He said: “Physicians must be active participants in shaping this transformation, not passive observers. We must ensure that technology serves humanity, not the other way round.
“While these innovations promise greater efficiency, and accessibility, they also raise ethical and profound questions”.
Similarly, the NMA Chairman observed that healthcare delivery does not begin in the hospital, but with policy formulation and runs through resource allocation, infrastructure development, training, logistics, service delivery and patient outcomes.
“When one link in the chain is weak, whether it is poor policy implementation, inadequate funding, lack of equipment, or workforce shortage, the entire system suffers,” he said.
Afolabi said that Nigeria’s healthcare system continues to face multiple challenges including insufficient health financing and inconsistent policies, shortage and migration of healthcare professionals.
Others, he said, are poor primary healthcare infrastructure, weak referral systems and fragmented coordination.
“To build efficiency, therefore, we must adopt a system-thinking approach that aligns policy, practice and patient-centred outcomes,” he said.
He also charged policy makers to listen to practitioners, and urged members of the association to uphold standards and ethics.
Afolabi said patients must have equitable access to quality care, adding that efficiency in healthcare was not about speed alone, but about delivering the right care, at the right time, by the right team, using the right resources.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the activities lined up for the 2025 Physicians’ Week include visitation to orphanages and sensitisation of young children in schools about medical field tagged: “Young Doctors Day”. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Abdulfatai Beki/Bayo Sekoni
