ZHAW International Business Insight: Building More Inclusive Healthcare Data Through Public-Private Partnerships

In a new publication in Communications Medicine, a Nature Portfolio journal, researchers from the ZHAW School of Management and Law, the University of Lausanne, Arizona State University, Roche and Genentech explore how Nigeria’s public-private healthcare partnerships can help close this data gap. Their findings offer important insights for healthcare innovation, policy and more equitable Artificial Intelligence.

AI is opening up new possibilities in healthcare, from earlier disease diagnosis to personalized treatments and drug discovery. However, these advances depend on the quality and diversity of the underlying data. When entire populations are underrepresented, AI systems risk reproducing existing inequalities rather than improving outcomes for everyone.

How can this challenge be addressed, particularly in countries with fragmented healthcare systems and limited resources? A new scientific publication co-authored by ZHAW School of Management and Law researcher Zeynep Erden Özkol examines this question through the example of Nigeria. The article, “Learning from Nigeria’s public-private pathways to generate inclusive healthcare data”, highlights how collaborations between governments, pharmaceutical companies, research institutions and non-governmental organizations can improve healthcare access while generating more representative health data.

Learning from Nigeria’s healthcare partnerships

Nigeria faces significant barriers to comprehensive healthcare data collection. Limited insurance coverage, fragmented information systems and financial constraints leave many patients underrepresented in existing datasets. As a result, AI systems trained on incomplete data may be less accurate for the populations that need them most.

Drawing on multi-year collaboration and fieldwork with healthcare stakeholders in Nigeria, the authors examine several approaches to addressing this gap. These include partnerships between pharmaceutical companies and government agencies to expand cancer treatment, collaborations between non-profit organizations and research institutions to improve patient data collection, and digital health initiatives connecting patients with healthcare providers.

One example is a partnership between Roche and Nigeria’s National Health Insurance Authority. By reducing patients’ financial burden for medication, the programme has improved access to cancer care while generating data on treatment patterns and barriers to healthcare access. Other initiatives demonstrate how patient advocacy organizations and digital health providers can reach communities often overlooked by traditional healthcare and research systems.

Why collaboration matters for innovation and policymaking

The article's central message is that inclusive healthcare data cannot be achieved through technology alone. It requires collaboration between stakeholders with different resources and responsibilities. Governments provide regulatory frameworks and financing, pharmaceutical companies contribute expertise and resources, and non-profit organizations help build trust and engage communities.

For policymakers, such partnerships offer opportunities to strengthen healthcare systems and improve the evidence available for public health decisions. For innovators, more representative data can support AI applications that respond to a broader range of patient needs.

However, the authors caution against treating Nigeria’s experience as a ready-made model for other countries. Public-private partnerships also raise questions about data protection, accountability, equitable representation and the distribution of benefits. Without appropriate safeguards, they risk reinforcing inequalities or leaving commercially less attractive diseases and populations underrepresented.

The researchers therefore emphasize clear governance arrangements, independent evaluation, interoperable data infrastructures and meaningful community engagement. Data-sharing agreements and mechanisms for returning value to local communities should also be considered from the outset.

Research with practical implications

The publication reflects collaboration across academic and industry boundaries. Zeynep Erden Özkol and Katharina Demmel of ZHAW School of Management and Law contributed to the research, with Özkol among the three authors who contributed equally. The wider author team includes Yash Raj Shrestha from the University of Lausanne, Öykü Isik from Arizona State University, Spyros Tsevas, Olatoke Oluwadara, Johan Descombes and Alma Rubio from Roche, and Sam McAvoy from Genentech.

The research was supported by the Enterprise for Society (E4S) Center. Collaboration with Roche and Genentech helped the researchers connect with relevant organizations in Nigeria and conduct the interviews underpinning their analysis. The publication illustrates the value of combining academic research and industry expertise to address challenges with direct implications for healthcare innovation and policy.

Ultimately, the authors see Nigeria’s experience as a starting point for further learning, not a blueprint for immediate replication. The challenge now is to turn promising initiatives into sustainable, interconnected healthcare data infrastructures that protect patients’ rights, include underserved populations and ensure that innovation benefits the communities whose data make it possible.