How to check on elderly parents in Nigeria when you live abroad

For Nigerians in the UK, the US and Canada: a daily WhatsApp check-in, the 112 emergency line, a trusted local circle, and what to settle before a hospital visit.

By the Athnova Care team · Updated 2026-10-02

Why families abroad worry about parents in Nigeria

Many Nigerian families have children in London, Houston, Toronto or Dublin and parents in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Ibadan or a home town. Love and money travel easily; knowing how a parent is today does not.

A daily WhatsApp check-in gives you that signal every morning, and a plan for the morning it does not come.

A daily check-in in English, on WhatsApp

Every morning, at the time you choose on their clock, your parent gets one WhatsApp message in English: did they take their morning medicines? They tap a button — "yes", "not yet" or "please call me" — and you see the answer in the family app.

Nothing to install and no password: the message arrives on the WhatsApp they already use, from a contact called Athnova Care. They can also send a photo of a blood-pressure reading, a prescription or a report at any time.

If the morning message is not answered, a reminder follows about three hours later. Our follow-up phone call does not reach Nigeria yet, so if the reminder also goes unanswered you are alerted straight away, and then the neighbour or relative you chose is asked to check.

Emergency numbers in Nigeria

Save these in your own phone and in your parent's, and on the fridge. Messages from Athnova Care quote this number when your parent says they are unwell, and so does their emergency card.

Number	What it is for
112	National emergency number — ambulance, police, fire

We are not an emergency service. In an emergency, your parent or the person with them should call the local number first.

Build a local circle before you need it

Agree a circle of two or three people near the house — a sibling, a cousin, a trusted neighbour or someone from church — and save their numbers in the app so they are asked to look in if your parent goes quiet.

Make sure someone local can pay at short notice: private hospitals may ask for a deposit before treatment. Agree in advance how that money reaches them.

Doctors, hospitals and medicines

Find out whether your parent is covered by health insurance — through the NHIA, a state scheme or a private HMO — and keep the card or number on their emergency card.

Note the nearest hospital with an emergency department and the doctor who knows your parent, and keep a list of their regular medicines for any new doctor.

The time difference

Nigeria is on West Africa Time (UTC+1) all year: the same time as the UK in summer and an hour ahead in winter, and five or six hours ahead of the US East Coast.

What Athnova Care does and does not do in Nigeria

Daily WhatsApp check-in in English or English, with the reply in your app.
An alert to you when they go quiet (the follow-up phone call does not reach Nigeria yet).
Alerts to the whole family, then to the neighbour or relative you chose.
An emergency card with their address, medicines, allergies, doctor and contacts, ready to share with a hospital.
Medicine reminders, readings and reports kept in one place for the doctor.
Not offered there: lab tests and medicine refills, which we arrange in India only.

Questions families ask

What language are the messages in?

English, written plainly in short sentences. Replies in everyday English are understood.

What is the emergency number in Nigeria?

112, the national emergency number. Some states also run their own lines, such as 767 in Lagos.

Is there a phone call if they do not reply?

The follow-up call does not reach Nigeria yet, so if the message and the reminder go unanswered we alert you and your local circle straight away.

Athnova Care tracks and coordinates care. It does not diagnose, prescribe or replace a doctor. In a medical emergency in Nigeria call 112.