FG targets $1b savings from medical tourism
The Federal Government has adopted proactive measures to help save $1b being expended on medical tourism abroad annually.
Specifically, government has launched a comprehensive healthcare investment programme in all the six geo-political regions of the country.
A statement from the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) on Monday said the “aim of the investment programme is to catalyse private sector investment to bridge the healthcare infrastructure gap, contribute to the reduction of the disease burden and facilitate improvement of Healthcare in the country.”
The healthcare projects are being developed by the NSIA, 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 are being developed.
The NSIA statement said “a total of ten (10) Memorandum of Cooperation (MOCs) have been signed. However, six (6) agreements are at advanced stages at the moment.”
Ripples Nigeria gathered that the 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.
Professor Isaac Folorunso Adewole, Minister of Health was quoted to have said that “these projects will attract investments into Nigeria’s healthcare sector, and demonstrate the Federal Ministry of Health’s ability to work effectively with institutions such as the NSIA.
No comments:
Post a Comment