TheCable

The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has launched two special medical companies in Enugu. 

The companies are the NSIA Advanced Medical Service Ltd (MedServe), and Equilease Systems Limited (Equilease).

Speaking recently at the launch, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of NSIA, said the authority also received the transfer of the state medical centre.

Umar-Sadiq said the centre will be “rehabilitated and upgraded to deliver both diagnostic and oncology services, ranging from radiotherapy,  chemotherapy, brachytherapy and much more”.

He said the new centre would be managed and operated by MedServe while equipment will be delivered through EquiLease.

The managing director said the development would ensure increased access to healthcare services as well as strengthen investment in the industry.

“Over the past five years, we have built a strong and successful portfolio of healthcare service delivery centres,” Umar-Sadiq said.

“The transfer of the Enugu centre for upgrade and rehabilitation is one of the steps in our journey towards making healthcare accessible and affordable for all Nigerians. The centre is one of the 23 centres to be upgraded for oncology and diagnostic services.

“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.”

In his remarks, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, governor of Enugu, lauded the development and effort of NSIA in providing such quality centres in the state.

He added that the centres would go a long way in improving the health service, not just in the state, but the eastern region of the country and beyond.

“The physical and mental well-being of the workforce in any state is a function of the quality of healthcare services available. 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.”

TheCable understands that MedServe was established to scale interventional investments in the healthcare space.

NSIA said MedServe would operate NHDIC’s existing centres and is poised to establish 23 modern medical diagnostic centres, three oncology centres, and seven catheterisation laboratories across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

The company’s goal is to ensure equitable geographic access by all Nigerians to excellent healthcare services, the agency said.

On the other hand, the authority said EquiLease is a speciality equipment leasing company that expected to catalyse growth in the healthcare sector by providing an alternative financing option for the acquisition of capital equipment.