A team of experts has called on the Federal Government to properly fund the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), for it to deliver on its mandate.

The call was made at the ongoing Africa Space Economy conference in Abuja. The conference with the theme: Exploring Space Economy for Africa’s Economic Growth, is a collaboration between NASRDA and Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).

The Chief Executive Officer of NISA Premiere, Dr. Ibrahim Wada, in his paper on healthcare dynamics, challenges and space technology, said this is the time to invest in facilities that will enable Nigerians to take advantage of latest developments in space technology to advance their Healthcare.

He said NASRDA has what it takes to compete with any other space agency in the world, but the challenge is limited funds.

According to him, “if NASRDA has a fraction of the support that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has, it will do wonders and Nigeria can be on the moon in the next 15 years. I say this with every sense of patriotism, that the government needs to properly fund the NASRDA for it to function properly.”

On his part, the Managing Director of Atlantic Factorial, Dr. Olugbenga Leke Oyewole, who spoke on: “Inspiring the next generation of technology driven Healthcare provision: A call to action, said there is so much Nigeria can do to improve its healthcare delivery using telemedicine, but unfortunately the government is not putting its money where its mouth is.”

He said if the government really cares about the people, it should put the money it is saving from removal of fuel subsidy in the development of telemedicine in the country.

According to him, “NASRDA is currently promoting a healthcare programme using space technology that if fully developed, there would be no need for medical tourism anymore because right in the comfort of your home, you can have access to the best doctors anywhere in the world.

“The only national programme to promote telemedicine in Nigeria is the collaboration NASRDA has with the Federal Ministry of Health. We are presently doing a test run at our model centre at the National hospital in Abuja. The project will provide a central database for medical records of everyone so that wherever you are you can access your medical records.

“We thank the chief medical director of National Hospital for accepting that we should use the hospital as a model Centre.

“I also thank Dr Wada of NISA PREMIERE and Garki Hospital for also accepting that we should deploy at those places.

“I believe from there the teaching hospitals as well as federal medical centres and of course other hospitals will join and Nigerians will see the need to be on the network. Of what use is it that you keep your record with one hospital in a village and you are in the city, nobody can access the record. It is better if you keep your record in a way that even you yourself at home can track what has happened to you as you grow older, you can check it on your app.”