Closing the gap between healthcare availability and access in Nigeria

Having a hospital nearby or a health insurance policy doesn’t always make care straightforward. For a busy professional, the challenge may be finding time for an appointment. For a household managing competing expenses, it may be the immediate cost of a routine check. Long wait times, unclear information, and difficulty navigating insurance benefits can further widen the gap between available healthcare and the care people

In this interview, Wahen Egbe, Chief Business Officer, OneHealth by AXA, discusses how healthcare providers, employers and insurers can help close that gap. The conversation explores making preventive care more practical, turning employee health benefits into meaningful support, and designing partnerships around the needs of different communities. Egbe also explains the thinking behind OneHealth’s expanding specialist services and why its growth ambitions centre on making quality healthcare easier to access and building lasting relationships with patients.

From your conversations with patients and employers, what are people asking of healthcare providers today?

Patients want quality healthcare that is accessible, affordable, delivered with dignity, and fits their lifestyle. They want shorter waiting times, greater transparency, and providers who listen and communicate clearly. Employers, meanwhile, are increasingly focused on keeping their workforce healthy and productive. They want healthcare partners that go beyond treating illness to support prevention, wellness, and early intervention. Both groups desire healthcare that is proactive, trustworthy, and easy to navigate.

Even with a hospital nearby, what can still keep people from getting the care they need?

A hospital may be close to work or home, but people can still face barriers such as cost, limited insurance coverage, inconvenient hours, long wait times, transportation challenges, or not knowing when and where to seek care. Trust also plays an important role. People are more likely to seek care when they believe they will receive quality attention, clear information, and a positive experience.

For a busy professional or business owner, seeking care can mean losing valuable working hours. How should healthcare providers respond to that reality?

Healthcare providers need to recognise that time is one of people’s most valuable assets today. Patients should not have to adapt to healthcare systems; healthcare systems should adapt to patients. That means improving appointment scheduling, reducing wait times, offering digital engagement channels, and ensuring patients can access multiple services efficiently in one location. Quality care and convenience should not be mutually exclusive. When healthcare is easier to access, people are more likely to seek care early rather than waiting until conditions become more serious.

When household budgets are under pressure, how can providers make preventive care more practical without overlooking the immediate costs people face?

Providers must acknowledge the reality that many families are making difficult financial choices. Providers can’t present preventive care as a future benefit; they must make it practical and affordable today. This means offering targeted screenings, health checks, wellness packages, and payment options that help people access care without significant financial strain. Equally important is educating patients on the value of early detection. Preventing a serious condition is often far less costly than treating one, both financially and personally.

For an employer that already provides health insurance, what else determines whether employees can access and benefit from care?

Health Insurance is a critical foundation, but it is only part of the solution. Employees also need awareness, convenience, and confidence in the healthcare system. Many organisations find that employees underutilise healthcare benefits because they don’t fully understand what is available or because access remains inconvenient. Workplace culture, health education, provider accessibility, and employee trust all influence whether healthcare coverage translates into real health outcomes.

What should a useful workplace health programme include, and how can employers assess its value while protecting employees’ medical privacy?

A meaningful workplace health programme should combine prevention, education, screening, wellness support, mental health resources, and pathways to quality care when needed. Employers can measure impact through aggregated, anonymised data such as participation rates, workforce health trends, absenteeism levels, presenteeism and employee satisfaction. Individual medical information should always remain confidential. The goal is to understand population-level outcomes while maintaining the trust and privacy that employees deserve.

OneHealth by AXA VI has expanded its specialist offering, including geriatric and optometry services. What needs informed those decisions, and how do you distinguish sustained demand from short-term interest?

Our expansion decisions are driven by patient needs, clinical trends, and observed gaps in healthcare services. We’ve seen growing demand for services that support an ageing population, as well as an increased need for accessible eye care and vision services. To separate long-term demand from short-term interest, we look at patient volumes, referral patterns, demographic trends, clinical outcomes, and feedback over time. Sustainable service expansion requires evidence that need is not only present today but will continue to affect the communities we serve.

What does a practical partnership between OneHealth by AXA and an employer, HMO or community organisation look like, from identifying needs to helping people receive care?

A successful partnership begins with understanding the population being served. Every workforce, community, or membership group has unique healthcare needs and challenges. We typically start by assessing those needs, identifying barriers to care, and defining measurable objectives.

From there, we develop tailored solutions as needed, including health screenings, education, specialist access, wellness initiatives, preventive programmes, and coordinated referral pathways. The goal is not simply to offer services but to ensure the services address the partner’s needs.

An AXA-backed medical centre in Victoria Island may be perceived as serving a narrow, affluent audience. Who is OneHealth by AXA designed to serve, and what should prospective patients understand about payment options and insurance access?

OneHealth by AXA serves people who value quality, accessible healthcare, whether they pay out of pocket or use insurance. While our Victoria Island location places us in a major commercial district, our mission is much broader. We offer quality healthcare with an emphasis on accessibility and affordability. Partnering with corporates, HMOs, and employers expands access to our medical centres for a wider population.

Patients should understand that access to quality care is not intended to be limited to a specific demographic. We are focused on expanding options, improving convenience, and ensuring that more people can benefit from comprehensive healthcare services.

Over the next phase of OneHealth by AXA’s growth, what would success look like in terms of patient access, experience and lasting relationships with the communities you serve?

Success for us is not simply measured by growth in facilities or patient numbers. We measure success by whether more people can access quality healthcare when they need it, whether patients consistently have positive healthcare experiences, and whether communities view us as a trusted long-term healthcare partner.

We want to see earlier intervention, stronger preventive care uptake, improved health outcomes, and deeper engagement with the communities we serve. If patients choose OneHealth by AXA not only when they are ill, but throughout their health journey, then we will know we are creating lasting value and impact.