TheCable

Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says the interventions of the federal government in the health sector will make Nigeria a destination for medical tourism.

According to a statement by Segun Adeyemi, special assistant to the president on media in the office of the minister, Mohammed said this On Tuesday at a media tour of Duchess International Hospital in Lagos.

The minister also said the world class healthcare facilities springing up in Nigeria will curb medical tourism abroad, conserve foreign reserves and create jobs.

“Today, we are here at the Duchess International Hospital. During the guided tour, I am sure you all saw that this is indeed a purpose-built, state-of-the-art, 100-bed hospital, which is aimed at delivering the highest standard of healthcare, using the most advanced technology and treatments to provide Nigerians with the best medical expertise available anywhere in the world,” he said.

Mohammed said according to records, Nigerians spends between $1.2 billion and $1.6 billion on medical tourism annually. He described this as a huge drain on the country’s foreign reserves.

The minister said the federal government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Bank of Industry, provided financial support for Duchess International Hospital, as part of its intervention in the health sector.

”This is not new. Recall that in the wake of Covid-19, the CBN set up the N100 billion Healthcare Sector Intervention Fund, now expanded to N200 billion, to provide credit support for the healthcare sector through long-term, low-cost financing,” he said.

“The essence of these financial interventions and projects in the critical healthcare sector is to fast-track the evolvement of world class healthcare facilities like the Duchess International Hospital.

“With that, we can conserve our foreign reserves, earn foreign exchange for the country, create jobs, reverse brain drain, become a destination for medical tourists and also ensure affordable and standard healthcare for Nigerians.”