🩺 Health Skills #10

This week, Digital health startups have seen a growth in funding, with over $300M compared to Q1 2024, indicating an increase in confidence with investors despite recent political uncertainty. The NHS in England is experiencing cost-cutting reforms that will lead to over 100,000 dismissals. 9 cutting-edge MedTech companies incorporated into the I-CREATE accelerator program by University Lab Partners, the fund plans to catalyze the commercialization, development, and scalability of these innovative medical technologies both domestically and globally.

In healthcare upskilling, Nigeria makes a national commitment to the healthcare sector with plans to train over 120,000 frontline health workers and create over 126,000 jobs for community health workers to ensure better access to care for all households in Nigeria. ArcLight Academy, based in San Antonio, reshapes the medical landscape with plans to retrain healthcare professionals. The Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS) and NSDC partnered in an initiative to train nursing students overseas, primarily in Germany, the UK, and Canada.

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Healthcare Labor Market Trends

💸 Digital Health Startups Raised $3B in Q1 2025 amid market shifts. Despite political uncertainty and a shaky stock market, the start of 2025 has seen digital health startups secure $300M more than in Q1 2024. While deal volume slightly dropped from 122  deals compared to 133 deals, average deal size surged drastically by about $8.9M, reflecting projected growth for demand in the healthcare workforce and a need to upskill healthcare professionals with the relevant digital skills to integrate into these startups.

🏥 England’s NHS Faces Up to 100,000+ Job Cuts Amid Cost-Cutting Push. Hospitals in England may shed over 100,000 jobs due to drastic efficiency targets ordered by Health Secretary Wes Streeting and NHS chief Sir Jim Mackey. The targets outline that all 215 NHS trusts cut 5% of their 2025 budgets to prevent an overexpenditure of over $8 billion. NHS leaders warn the cost of redundancies could exceed £2B, prompting urgent calls for a national redundancy fund from the Treasury.

🔬 ULP Welcomes 9 MedTech Innovators to Inaugural I-CREATE Accelerator. University Lab Partners has unveiled the first cohort of the I-CREATE Accelerator Program, a BARDA-backed initiative focused on medical device and diagnostic innovation. Nine standout MedTech startups will benefit from funding, mentorship, and commercialization support to tackle pressing health security threats. 

Over 10% of Nigerian Households Had No Access to Health Services in 2021

👩🏾‍⚕️ In Nigeria, maternal health care saw more prominence, with 5.1% of the population having more access compared to adult health care, alluring towards a lagging treatment of other health-related concerns. 

📈 With over 10% of Nigerian Households not having access to adult and child healthcare, this is indicative of Nigeria's poor health coverage compared to the global standards. 

💉 Vaccinations in Nigeria show the largest shortage of access to Nigerian households. Since vaccinations are a foothold in public healthcare, the shortage is a representation of inadequate funding and infrastructure for Nigerian healthcare.

🎯 Actionable Strategies: To address the insufficiency of healthcare coverage to Nigerian households, heavily investing in infrastructure in the health sector will be necessary, as it will improve the ability of the public to receive healthcare services. Upskilling and training initiatives will supplement critical manpower gaps in PHC's to provide essential health services to remote and underserved communities.

Upskilling/ Reskilling Intiatives

💉 A Healthier Nigeria: Tinubu’s Bold Agenda to Transform Healthcare. As a realignment of priorities toward the health sector, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has launched an ambitious, multi-pronged healthcare reform aimed at transforming access, infrastructure, and service delivery nationwide. This sweeping health agenda is redefining the sector and is set to train 120,000 frontline health workers over 16 months, signaling a promising shift toward a more inclusive and efficient system.

🧑🏾‍⚕️ Bridging the Skills Gap: ArcLight Academy Powers San Antonio’s Healthcare Career Transition. In the heart of San Antonio’s booming $42B medical industry, ArcLight Academy is reshaping the region’s workforce future. Pete Kosko founded this nonprofit, which is turning mass layoffs into career-launching opportunities by retraining unemployed individuals for high-demand healthcare roles like EMTs, phlebotomists, and ECG technicians.

🌍 Global Careers for Nurses: KUHS & NSDC Partner to Launch Overseas Placement Training. In a significant step toward boosting international job opportunities for healthcare professionals, the Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS) and NSDC International have signed a landmark MoU to upskill nursing students for overseas employment, with zero intermediaries involved. Students will have secured placements in Germany, Canada, and the UK, specifically within the fields of paramedical sciences and pharmacy.

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