Angela Onwuzoo
With the unveiling of the American Hospital Dubai Representative office in Lagos which connects patients to world-class care, Nigerians no longer have reasons to embark on foreign medical trips, stakeholders have said.
The stakeholders stated this during the opening of the state-of-the-art facility in Victoria Island, Lagos, recently.
They noted that the initiative would reduce the drain caused by medical tourism on Nigerians, adding that Nigerians deserve access to the best medical services without travelling out of the country.
The Chairman of American Hospital Dubai-Nigeria Limited, Mahmoud Harbaji, in his remarks, said that the establishment of a world-class representative office in Lagos would serve as a vital link between the Dubai-based hospital and patients in local communities in Nigeria.
Harbaji said he had always recognised Nigeria’s potential and importance within Africa and together, American Hospital Dubai through its representative office in Lagos could make a positive impact on the health and well-being of Nigerians.
The well-attended launch event attracted top government officials, embassy staff, politicians, and traditional rulers, including Lagos State Commissioner for Health Prof. Akin Abayomi; Permanent Secretary at the state’s Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye; former Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr Dakuku Peterside; veteran Nigerian actress, director, and businesswoman, Joke Silva, among others.
The Consul General of the United Arab Emirates in Nigeria, Dr Abdullah Al-mandoos, acknowledged the efforts of President Bola Tinubu and the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo Olu, for supporting them to reach and achieve these initiatives.
He added that with the support of his colleague and CEO of the American Hospital Dubai Group, Sherif Beshara, they could see the reality of whatever they were thinking and planning since 2019.
Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, recalled that when he first had a detailed discussion with Al-Mandoos regarding how the UAE, Lagos, and Nigeria could initiate some joint collaborative initiatives to strengthen the healthcare sector, they were slowed down by COVID-19.
Abayomi who represented the governor at the event said the opening of a representative office was a good first step.
He recounted that the governor in his meeting with the American Hospital Dubai team had said, “Lagos very much welcomes this initiative.
“If Lagosians are going to Dubai for medical interventions, we would certainly want that journey to be as seamless, as safe, and as problem-free as possible with more discounts via the office, but “Lagos has a very, definitive strategy. It’s encompassed in the Lagos State Development Plan 2052, a 30-year development plan for Lagos State.”
He stated that the GDP of Lagos State has increased from N27 trillion at the beginning of Sanwo-Olu’s first tenure to close to N45 million which is a huge GDP for any governed space in Africa.
Abayomi also stated that Lagos had 35 huge general hospitals that see up to a thousand patients in a day and what the state needs is “subspecialty general hospitals where things like neurosurgery, complex cancer treatment, kidney transplants, among many others can be done.”
According to him, Lagos state is a center of commerce and health is an essential component of the GDP of any community. Which is why the government is very serious about providing universal healthcare coverage for the masses.“Lagos was found to be the 8th city in Africa with the best healthcare services after Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Nairobi, Tunis, and Cairo,” Abayomi added.
He further acknowledged the efforts of the American Hospital Dubai-Nigeria Limited and the Lagos State Governor in making the initiative a reality.
On his part, a member of the Board, American Hospital Dubai -Nigeria Limited, Tonye Princewill, said the Lagos representative office of the AHD would function as an embassy for patients in Nigeria with the intent to access care from the Dubai-based facility.
He stated that the expansion into Nigeria demonstrates the facility’s commitment to investing in Nigeria which is aimed at making accessing care in Dubai very seamless and convenient.
Princewill noted, “Many hospital patients from Nigeria but very few are prepared to commit energy and resources to developing that business.
“For those people who want to go to AHD, instead of going online making searches/inquiries they can physically come to the Lagos representative office in Victoria Island where officials talk to them and make their trip to Dubai very much easier from visas to flights to accommodation.
“Already, they have approved a second office in Abuja and asked us to get space for a diagnostic centre in Lagos”.
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