A consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, Richard Ajayi, has called for culturally responsive reproductive healthcare across Africa. Mr Ajayi, founder and executive vice chairman of Bridge Clinic Fertility Centre, Lagos, made the call on Monday.

He said that healthcare providers, policymakers and investors must reflect on the continent’s cultural and religious diversity in the design and delivery of specialised medical services.

Mr Ajayi also said that treating Africa as a single healthcare market overlooked the continent’s diverse cultural, religious and social realities, particularly in specialised areas such as reproductive medicine. According to him, healthcare systems that fail to recognise these differences risk losing public trust and limiting access to quality care.

The gynaecologist noted that nearly three decades of experience in fertility care had shown that patients’ beliefs, expectations and treatment preferences varied significantly across different regions.

Mr Ajayi explained that while consultations in many parts of Southern Nigeria often focused on educating patients about infertility, reproductive biology and treatment options, clinical practice in parts of Northern Nigeria required greater sensitivity to religious beliefs that influenced healthcare decisions.

According to the gynaecologist, treatment options such as donor eggs, donor sperm and gestational surrogacy may not be acceptable to some patients because of their religious convictions.

Mr Ajayi said culturally responsive healthcare should not be misconstrued as compromising scientific or clinical standards. He said rather it involved adapting healthcare delivery to local realities without sacrificing quality, safety or evidence-based practice.

The fertility expert restated that patient-centred care required empathy, cultural competence and effective communication, especially in specialised medical fields where personal beliefs and family values often influenced treatment decisions. He noted that sustainable expansion of specialised healthcare services across Africa would require flexible health systems capable of accommodating the continent’s diverse populations.

Mr Ajayi urged governments, development partners and private sector investors to integrate cultural considerations into healthcare planning, saying such an approach would strengthen patient confidence, improve service uptake and contribute to better health outcomes.

According to him, recognising Africa’s cultural diversity is not a barrier to healthcare development but an essential factor in building resilient, inclusive and sustainable health systems.

He added that culturally informed healthcare policies would also support efforts to expand access to reproductive health services and advance universal health coverage across the continent.

(NAN)