By Onome Amuge
In a significant step towards providing citizens with access to world-class healthcare, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), managers of Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund, has launched two flagship companies, NSIA Advanced Medical Service Ltd (MedServe) and Equilease Systems Limited (Equilease), aimed at advancing healthcare delivery in the country.
This development comes amidst the receipt of the Enugu State Medical Diagnostic Centre from the Enugu State Government under NSIA’s healthcare expansion programme. The launch and handover ceremony took place recently on the grounds of the diagnostic centre in Enugu.
NSIA said MedServe is being set up to serve as the vehicle to deliver its healthcare expansion objectives. The goal, it explained, is to provide high quality and affordable healthcare services and ensure equitable geographic access to these services across the country.
NSIA also noted that the company will develop, equip, and operate NSIA’s expanding portfolio of healthcare centres and offer first class medical services nationwide.
Meanwhile, EquiLease is a specialised equipment leasing service provider. Conceived as a market disruptor, the company will provide medical equipment leasing services, leveraging its strategic advantage to catalyse investments in healthcare institutions and facilitating the acquisition of equipment to improve the quality of care in the country.
Equilease will partner with medical equipment manufacturers to offer innovative financing and leasing programs for advanced medical equipment. At the onset, it will offer services exclusively to MedServe as an anchor client.
The Authority’s management disclosed that it received the transfer of the Enugu State Medical Diagnostic Centre from the Enugu State Government as part of the three-part event. Following the transfer, the Centre will be rehabilitated and upgraded to deliver both diagnostic and oncology services covering automated laboratory services ranging from imaging to radiotherapy, chemotherapy, brachytherapy and much more.
The investment institution of the federation noted that the centre will be managed and operated by MedServe while re-equipping will be delivered through the leasing services provided by EquiLease. It also assured that the complete overhaul of the centre’s infrastructure will position the facility to meet the growing demand for quality healthcare services in the eastern region of the country and beyond.
“The official transfer is off the back of the agreements signed in September 2022 where both parties committed to it. The handover of the facility signposts the commencement of NSIA’s healthcare expansion programme which will be executed in two phases under which the NSIA will develop 23 new modern medical diagnostic centres, three oncology centres, and seven catheterization laboratories across the country’s six geopolitical zones,” NSIA stated.
Delivering his remarks at the three-part event, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, managing director and chief executive officer, said the Authority has over the past five years, built a strong and successful portfolio of healthcare service delivery centres.
According to Umar-Sadiq, the transfer of the Enugu Centre for upgrade and rehabilitation is one of the steps in NSIA’s journey towards making healthcare accessible and affordable for all Nigerians. He added that the centre is one of the 23 centres to be upgraded for oncology and diagnostic services.
Speaking further he said, “MedServe and Equilease are transformative, market-disrupting entities that will deliver a unique set of connected solutions to bridge the gaps in Nigeria’s healthcare industry. The outcome from the creation of these entities is expected to strengthen the industry’s value chain and unclog the constraints created by insufficient financial investments, inadequate manpower capacity and substandard services.”
On his part, Ogechi Pascal-Ejiogu, non-executive director, NSIA, pointed out that healthcare infrastructure in Nigeria is still underdeveloped and remains a challenge.
According to Pascal-Ejiogu, Nigeria has one of the fastest growing populations globally, with 5.5 live births per woman and a population growth rate of 3.2 percent annually, which in time will put its population at 400 million people by 2050. He,however, bemoaned that the country is yet to fully put in place strong systems to guarantee health security for our people.
The non-executive director further observed that medical professionals in many specialised medical fields such as cardiology, oncology, nephrology, neurology, orthopaedics, and many other areas are in short supply, with only about 35,000 doctors despite needing 237,000, adding that Nigeria also lack manpower and skill in the sector.
Referencing a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO),he said the situation will worsen due to massive migration of healthcare workers overseas.
“As a result of all these, Nigeria loses at least US$1.5 billion every year to medical tourism, according to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA),” he said.
To this end, he said the NSIA, believes that the healthcare challenges are solvable, and is of the view that the solution will come when the domestic financial system and healthcare system align to develop creative ways to crowd in patient capital, finance equipment acquisition sustainable and invest in human capital development in the sector.
In his words: “Our gathering today is to lead by example. We are here to show what is possible when collaboration leads to action and actions to desired outcomes. NSIA, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health, has signed a series of agreements to modernise and expand healthcare services through private sector participation. Under these agreements, we are looking to develop the capacity of specialist hospitals and diagnostic centres to provide advanced medical services across the country under phase II of our healthcare expansion programme. The Enugu State Diagnostic Centre will be our first in this phase.”
Performing the handover of the Enugu State Medical Diagnostic Centre to the NSIA, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, governor of Enugu State said the physical and mental well-being of the workforce in any state is a function of the quality of healthcare services available. He added that healthcare inexorably determines the direction of the economy.
“The partnership with NSIA to transform this facility with the promise of significantly better equipment and services will go a long way towards contributing to healthcare security in the state. With this, our state will be one of the few states equipped with world-class healthcare infrastructure and amenities,” the governor added.
