By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The number of patients seeking specialist healthcare at the already established Medical Centres in Nigeria have surpassed the planned expectations, according to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed.
Speaking at a meeting with the team of Nigerian Ambassador to Egypt and representatives of Saudi-German Hospital (SGH) in Cairo, after a previous meeting with government of Kaduna State on healthcare management and operations, Mrs. Ahmed disclosed that as at 2008 Nigerians spent $1.0billion in medical tourism.
In a statement by the Special Adviser to the Minister on Media and Communications, Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi on Friday, the meeting was led by the Nigerian Ambassador to Egypt with accreditation to Palestine and Eritrea, Mr. Nura Abba Rimi.
On the state of Nigerian healthcare, Mrs. Ahmed said: “We are compelled to travel outside our shores for healthcare due to the dearth in professional healthcare facilities and management in Nigeria. This means that we have the capacity to pay for quality healthcare anywhere.
“Why can we not bring these facilities to Nigeria, by government introducing deliberate policies backed by funding, to attract similar healthcare service providers to Nigeria,” she said.
Recalling areas of healthcare that Nigerians seek professional services, the Minister said: “There are four main areas of healthcare in which Nigerians all over the country seek professional services, namely, oncology, cardio-vascular, nephrology and orthopaedic medicine.
She told the team that Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) on behalf of the federal government is investing in these areas through collaboration with the Teaching Hospitals and Federal Medical Centres across the country, adding that “so far, through the NSIA, we have established three specialist centres in Kano, Lagos and Umuahia”
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Mrs. Ahmed then invited Mr. Uche Orji, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NSIA, to explain what the Authority have been doing within the healthcare sector infrastructure in Nigeria.
Mr. Orji explained they have commenced the construction of an Advanced Medical Centre in Abuja and have plans for three more oncology centres and 23 diagnostic centres.
He also disclosed that there are plans to establish large regional diagnostic centres by supporting third party investors in the healthcare delivery platform in Nigeria, adding that the NSIA is reaching out to co-investors in that regards.
The huge investments are being carried out as the government looks to attract professional healthcare experts and managers into Nigeria, according to Mr. Orji.
He also said that the NSIA is also looking at the co-investors participating in pharmaceuticals and vaccine production in the country.
At the meeting, the Ambassador of Nigeria to Egypt introduced the Regional Director of the SGH Group in Egypt and North Africa, Dr. Mohammed Hablas, and their Chief Business Development Officer, Mr. Mohamed Lotfy.
The SGH Group representatives noted that investment in healthcare is very important for any country, even as they indicated interest in investing in greenfield hospitals, and in ‘total medical city’.
They said that, currently, they have facilities in Cairo, Alexandria, Giza in Egypt and in Morocco. The meeting was at the behest of the Finance minister.
