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Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Nigeria, Wale Edun (left); Former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima, representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Professor Benedict Oramah, CON, and his wife, Mrs. Chinelo Oramah who is also the Matron of Afreximbank Spouse Network (ASNET), during the commissioning ceremony of the African Medical Centre of Excellence Abuja (AMCE), yesterday.
Federal Government has commissioned the $350 million world-class African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE), a medical facility developed by the Afreximbank in conjunction with King’s College Hospital, London, with the support of other partners.
The facility, which has 170 inpatient beds in phase 1, would be expanded to 500 beds in phase 2, and it is meant to tackle challenges of medical tourism, limited access to specialised care, and the brain drain of skilled professionals, address the persistent challenges in accessing high-quality healthcare here in Nigeria and across the continent.
Speaking at the commissioning of the facility yesterday in Abuja, Tinubu said Nigeria was proud to host the largest stem cell laboratory in West Africa, located within the centre, adding that with the planned medical and nursing school on the campus, and with partners ranging from King’s College London to the University of Wisconsin, AMCE was laying the foundation for a new generation of African medical specialists, who would no longer be exported but empowered at home.
He observed that the establishment of the AMCE was a collective refusal to accept medical vulnerability as destiny, stressing that the centre was a promise of the continent, and a statement that Africa was prepared to compete with the best medical services around the world.
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Represented by his Deputy, Senator Ibrahim Shetima, the President stated that the administration in December 2023, launched the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative and secured over $2.2 billion in health sector commitments, with clear, measurable targets to renovate over 17,000 primary health centres, train 120,000 frontline health workers, and double health insurance coverage within three years.
In his remark, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AMCE, Brian Deavers, said the facility would deliver comprehensive, advanced, patient-centred, compassionate care in West Africa, adding that no West African should ever need a passport to find a health facility.
Deaver explained that the first phase of the facility, being commissioned, had 170 inpatient beds to start, expanding to 500 beds in phase 2, each with point-of-care diagnostics, first and only 3 Tesla MRI in Nigeria and only one functioning in West Africa as well as 256-Slice CT to provide ultra-high-resolution neuro-vascular, cardiac, and whole-body imaging in a fraction of the time of the next best alternatives.
In his remarks, the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, said AMCE would also serve as the largest and most diverse biobank in West Africa, enabling it to attract global and pan-African partnerships and to serve as a reference medical facility for hospitals all over Africa.
The Guardian
