Vice-President Kashim Shettima on Thursday inaugurated the
African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The AMCE is a tertiary medical city developed by the African
Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with King’s College Hospital, London.
The facility is designed to bridge critical healthcare gaps
in Africa and deliver services in oncology, haematology, cardiovascular care,
and general surgery, while also serving as a hub for medical research and
training.
The 500-bed facility is expected to serve over 350,000
patients within its first five years of operation.
Shettima, who represented President Bola Tinubu, said the
healthcare facility is proof that Africa is prepared to compete with the best
medical services around the world.
He added that the medical centre is an example of what
becomes possible when institutions rise to African challenges with African
solutions.
“So, I must pay tribute to Afreximbank and its visionary
president for seeing what many dared not dream,” Shettima said.
“I salute the partnership with King’s College Hospital and
the brilliant minds behind this medical renaissance.
“When we took office two years ago, we set out to break the
cycle of dysfunction in our healthcare system.
“I signed an executive order to unlock the healthcare value
chain, making room for local manufacturers, domestic innovators, and private
sector partners like you.
“Through the renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund,
we are investing in the roads, power, and connectivity that breathe life into
health facilities.
“Because a world-class hospital cannot function on a dirt
road, and no MRI machine works without stable electricity.
“So, the African Medical Centre of Excellence could not have
come at a better time.
“It will benefit from the investments and reforms we have
championed, and it is also a reminder that the ultimate measure of a functional
nation is the synergy between the government and private sector players to
co-create solutions.”
Brian Deaver, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the AMCE,
said the centre marks a milestone for Africa.
Deaver said the completion of the centre is a promise that
world-class, cutting-edge healthcare is not something one must leave Africa
for.
“It is now right here, homegrown, African-dreamed,
African-built. And soon, African-renowned,” he said.
“The African Medical Centre of Excellence—this beautiful,
high-tech, purpose-built facility—is the result of vision, collaboration,
persistence, and more than a few sleepless nights.
“This is where engineering meets compassion, where precision
meets empathy, and where patients will meet a new standard of care—one defined
not by borders but by excellence.”
Deaver thanked Afreximbank for financing the project and
believing that Africa deserves not just good, but great healthcare.
“We thank Kings College Hospital London for their clinical
leadership and training partnership, and we thank the Federal Government of
Nigeria for its unwavering support throughout this journey,” he said.
Benedict Oramah, president of the Afreximbank, said the goal
is for the AMCE and two or three others that will follow in other parts of
Africa to make a bold statement to the world that Africa is finally taking its
destiny into its hands in terms of healthcare sovereignty and contributions in
setting global healthcare standards.
“We want this initiative to lead in providing solutions to
the African healthcare problems, namely the challenge of inadequate healthcare
infrastructure and diagnostics facilities, the billions of US dollars being
expended in outbound medical tourism, and the very limited research on diseases
of interest to people of African descent,” he said.
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