From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
AS part of efforts to reverse the outflow of over $1 billion spent on medical tourism yearly, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), in collaboration with Ministry of Health, has concluded plans to bridge healthcare infrastructure gap through the provision of standard medical facilities to discourage Nigerians from travelling abroad.
The healthcare programme which was launched in all the six geo-political regions of the country, yesterday, will catalyse private sector investment in healthcare and contribute to the reduction of the disease burden.
NSIA said in a statement that the healthcare projects are being developed in partnership with Federal Government Teaching Hospitals and Medical Centres (“Federal Healthcare Institutions”) located in each of the six geo-political regions of the country. Under the partnership, specialist hospitals and modern diagnostic centres which will provide advanced medical care and modern diagnostic services will be developed.
So, far a total of 10 Memorandum of Cooperation (MOCs) have been signed with six agreements at advanced stages.
“NSIA has entered an agreement with Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) to jointly develop a specialist cardiovascular hospital in Lagos. The specialist hospital is expected to provide cardiovascular treatment, including diagnostics, minimally-invasive procedures, surgery and post-surgery care in the country.
“As part of the programme, NSIA also secured approval from the Federal Ministry of Health to enter into a binding agreement with Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) for the development of a modern medical diagnostic centre to be co-located within the main hospital complex at Kano.