GMLD Lagos Pays Courtesy Visit to PharmAccess Foundation
GMLD Lagos Pays Courtesy Visit to PharmAccess Foundation
The Executive members of the Guild of Medical Laboratory Directors (GMLD), Lagos State Branch, paid a courtesy visit to the Nigeria Country Director of PharmAccess Foundation, Mrs Njide Ndili, on Friday, 29 January 2026.
The visit was aimed at exploring potential areas of collaboration through which the medical laboratory profession could benefit from the impactful work of PharmAccess Foundation. It also provided an opportunity for the Guild to formally congratulate Mrs Ndili on her recent emergence as the President of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN).
Receiving the delegation, Mrs Ndili expressed delight at the visit and commended the role of medical laboratories in strengthening healthcare delivery. She assured the GMLD leadership of her willingness to identify practical areas of partnership, particularly through SafeCare, a quality-focused initiative designed to improve standards and transform healthcare delivery across Nigeria. She further pledged to ensure the integration of medical laboratory professional bodies into the activities and policy engagements of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria, and gave firm assurance of her attendance at the forthcoming GMLD Conference scheduled for April 2026.
Mrs Ndili is the Nigeria Country Director of PharmAccess Foundation, an international non-governmental organisation that leverages digital technology and innovative financing to improve access to quality healthcare across sub-Saharan Africa. The Foundation adopts an integrated approach that addresses both demand- and supply-side challenges within healthcare systems, with strong emphasis on sustainability, equity, and system-wide impact.
In her current role, Mrs Ndili leads initiatives that promote innovative demand-side health financing, institutionalisation of quality improvement methodologies, and improved access to finance for health-sector small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the Medical Credit Fund. Her work also involves providing technical assistance to private healthcare providers, leveraging digital platforms to connect patients, payers, and providers, facilitating public–private partnerships, and strengthening regulatory and governance capacity within the health sector.
In addition to her role at PharmAccess, Mrs Ndili serves as the President of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN), the country’s foremost private sector health advocacy platform. Under her leadership, HFN is being repositioned as a more inclusive, impactful, and action-driven institution, focused on stronger private sector coordination, deeper policy engagement, and tangible improvements in healthcare access and quality nationwide.
She is a Founding Member of the Digital Transformation of Health (DTH) Lab, established to identify and scale digital innovations that accelerate universal health coverage, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Mrs Ndili is also a Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), contributing to global discourse on addressing AMR through health system strengthening and multi-sector collaboration.
Her academic qualifications include an MSc in Health Economics, Policy and Management from the London School of Economics, an Advanced Management Programme from INSEAD Business School, an MBA from the University of Houston, a Postgraduate Diploma in Finance, and a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Nigeria.
Members of the GMLD delegation were Adekoya Abimbola Julius, Chairman, GMLD Lagos; Igwe Akujuobi, National Secretary General; Unamba Ikechukwu, Assistant Secretary General, GMLD Lagos; and Vincent Iwunze, Special Adviser to the National President on Logistics.