The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has signed a healthcare expansion agreement with five Federal Medical Centers and three State governments to deliver high quality and affordable healthcare services to Nigerians.
Speaking at the signing ceremony on Thursday, in Abuja, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, NSIA, Uche Orji said the project which is an initiative of the NSIA Healthcare Development and Investment Company, is aimed at providing citizens with access to world class healthcare.
The beneficiaries of this phase of the expansion programme, include Enugu, Kaduna, Kwara State governments, while the five selected tertiary medical centers are Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi, Usman Dan Fodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Federal Medical Centre Asaba, Delta, University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Akwa Ibom and University College Hospital Board of Management, Ibadan, Oyo state.
Orji explained that the healthcare investment plan is expected to build, equip and maintain the new centres as well as upgrade the already existing medical centres to deliver high quality healthcare at a reasonable for Nigerians.
The NSIA Managing Director assured that if the project expansion of the NHDIC”s Radiotherapy, Diagnostics and Oncology programme is successful, it would reverse the trend of medical tourism in Nigeria, which is estimated to drain over US$1 billion in foreign exchange annually.
According to the NSIA boss, the NHDIC is committed to delivering the healthcare plan across all 6 geopolitical zones of the country, adding that the project will be replicated in other states in Nigeria soon.
He added that the healthcare investment plan would build twenty three diagnostic centres, seven catheterization laboratories and two oncology centres across Nigeria.
Orji said ” the expansion plan is going to get to every state in Nigeria. All the centres will deal with different levels of complexities. All the centers are not the same. While some will be on diagnostics, others will be on Oncology, depending on the needs of the centres.
” We are raising capital by buying in more investors to invest in the project. If it works we will see more investments coming to the sector”.
The Authority ‘s CEO however appealed for the cooperation of all stakeholders to make the healthcare plan a successful one.
Recall that the company took a significant step towards providing patients in Nigeria with access to world class healthcare through investments in 3 medical facilities in the first phase of the project.
The facilities are: LUTH Cancer Centre, Kano Diagnostic Centre and Umhahia Diagnostic Centre.
