NSIA signs healthcare agreement worth over $100m with 3 states, 5 medical centres

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) Healthcare Development and Investment Company (NHDIC), an NSIA Company, has signed Healthcare agreements worth over $100 million with five tertiary medical centres and three State Governments.

The agreements, which were signed on Thursday in Abuja signposts a significant step toward providing citizens with access to world-class healthcare, and the expansion of the diagnostics and oncology programme.

The NSIA entered into eight collocation agreements in total, which include Lease and Collaboration agreements with five Federal Medical Centres and three State Governments under phase one of the expansion.

The state governments are Enugu, Kaduna and Kwara states while the selected, medical centres include: Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi, Usman Dan Fodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Federal Medical Centre Asaba, Delta, University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Akwa Ibom and University College Hospital Board of Management, Oyo state.

Managing Director/CEO of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Mr Uche Orji said at the agreements signing ceremony that “this is an expansion stage, about $100 million just to make investment and get it going, they generate revenue; they have profit and loss (P&L). They are all profitable, the ones we are running. So, once you make the investment, and provide the working capital, it helps you a jump-start. It starts first of all as a business and they provide their own revenue, their own P&L”.

On the cost of the facilities, Mr Orji said, “each of them requires a certain level of investment, diagnostics centres, working capital including all the radiology equipment is under $5 million, each of the cancer centres is somewhere between $12 million and $20 million depending on the level of infrastructure on the ground that we meet”.

According to him, the broader goal of the programme is to establish, in two phases, a portfolio of 23 diagnostic centres, seven catheterization labs and two oncology centres across Nigeria.

Pursuant to these agreements, funds will be deployed to
build, equip, maintain, and operate catheterization labs in Kwara, Oyo, Sokoto, Bauchi and Delta states.

Also, funds will be channelled to build, equip, maintain, and operate private modern medical diagnostic centres in Enugu, Kaduna, Kwara, Akwa Ibom, Oyo, Sokoto, Bauchi and Delta states, build, equip, maintain, and operate an oncology Centre for advanced radiotherapy treatment.

He explained that each centre will run as a joint venture between NSIA and the respective tertiary hospital to ensure timely and efficient delivery of services.

“The investments are expected to build new and upgrade these institutions to modern medical centres and significantly enhance Nigeria’s ability to treat Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)” and “provide access to advanced healthcare services for the benefit of lower-income families with limited access to care.”

The NSIA boss explained that the programme was created having identified critical infrastructure gaps through a comprehensive assessment of the sector and is aligned with the NSIA Healthcare Investment and Development Company’s (NHDIC) strategy to invest in the sector through the establishment of diagnostic centres and tertiary healthcare centres.

Mr Orji added that the enhanced diagnostic capabilities will improve medical intervention in the country and in the respective catchment areas of the partner Federal Teaching Hospitals.

He stated that when these centres become operational, they will deliver additional development impact for Nigerians through the provision of high-quality, affordable, and accessible healthcare.

The proposed projects, Mr Orji added, present a disruptive healthcare strategy, as it will bring about the provision of high-quality, affordable and accessible healthcare to the local market, as well as development and training on the required clinical resources in Nigeria and bring quality healthcare to many.

On plans to sustain and keep medical practitioners intact, Mr Orji said, “This is a bigger question beyond what NSIA can address, I really don’t know but I will tell you two things. We have made the right investment for the right equipment and provided the right training and I don’t think we’ve lost anyone in any of these excursions outside the country, part of this is because the NSIA runs these things with the private sector philosophy.”

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