Abuja, Nigeria (CU)_ According to Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, Nigerian citizens spend nearly USD1.2 to USD1.6 billion yearly on medical tourism, and the inauguration of Duchess International Hospital in Lagos will significantly minimize this large drain on the nation’s foreign reserves.
According to Alhaji Mohammed, who expressed his opinion following a media tour of the Duchess International Hospital in Lagos, the goal of the Federal Government’s recent financial interventions and projects in the vital healthcare sector was to expedite the development of world-class healthcare facilities like the Duchess International Hospital in Nigeria.
According to him, there is no need for any Nigerian, regardless of status, to seek overseas medical care, and there is a need for Nigerian physicians abroad to return home and provide services at the newly constructed facilities in the country. According to him, with additional advanced healthcare facilities, such as Duchess Hospital, coming into the industry, Nigeria is destined to become a medical tourism destination in order to stem the tide of its residents traveling overseas and spending more than N500 billion annually on medical tourism.
Mohammed highlighted the need to promote domestic healthcare. He said, “We as a country will also conserve our foreign reserves while earning foreign exchange. We will begin to reverse the brain drain in the health sector, create jobs and provide affordable and standard healthcare for our people. It’s a new dawn for the health sector, and we are proud of what the Duchess and other healthcare facilities are doing in bringing about this new dawn.
Mohammed noted the high amounts spent on overseas medical tourism. He said, “Available records show that Nigerians spend between USD1.2 and USD1.6 billion on medical tourism. That’s a huge drain on our foreign reserves. Also, to retain doctors, our healthcare facilities must be equipped to a world-standard level, and doctors and other healthcare workers must be adequately remunerated. Of course, facilities like Duchess International are veritable tools for job creation, in addition to attracting medical tourists from across the world”.
Mohammed detailed the cost of the treatment at the new facility. He said, “I am sure the questions on the lips of many here would be how affordable this hospital is, especially for ordinary Nigerians. Fittingly, the management of Duchess Hospital has answered that question by launching the ‘World Class Affordable Healthcare Programme’”. He added, “With what we have seen here today and the programme that has just been launched, Nigerians can now get access to affordable and world-class treatment for whatever is ailing them in many areas, including emergency medicine, women’s health, pediatric care, cardiovascular medicine, kidney dialysis, dental treatment, eye care, and so on.”
According to the chief executive officer of Duchess International Hospital, Dr. Adetokunbo Shitta-Bey’s announcement during the launch of the hospital’s new program, ‘World Class Affordable Healthcare Programme,’ a patient can register in the hospital for just N5,000, and it costs an additional N5,000 to see any consultant in the hospital. According to him, the goal of the 100-bed, custom-built, advanced hospital is to reverse medical tourism and give patients the quickest and most comfortable access to high-quality healthcare and the finest medical knowledge available anywhere on the globe.
