Lai Mohammed Says Nigerians Don’t Have To Abroad For Medical Care 

The CBN established the N100 billion healthcare sector intervention fund in the wake of COVID-19

By Omotayo Olutekunbi

On Tuesday, May 10, 2022, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated that no one needs to fly overseas for medical treatment.

He made the remarks on a tour of the Duchess International Hospital in Lagos’ Ikeja neighbourhood.

He was overjoyed that the hospital was one of the initiatives that the federal government had helped flourish. Even if the initiative is driven by the private sector, he noted, the government has either given the enabling atmosphere or, in certain situations, financial help.

The 100-bed hospital, he said, was purpose-built and state-of-the-art, with the goal of providing Nigerians with the greatest medical knowledge available anywhere in the world, employing the most sophisticated technology and therapies.
Patients were already arriving from various nations, he said, emphasising that it was a one-stop shop for all medical needs.

In the aftermath of COVID-19, the Nigerian Central Bank, CBN, established a N100 billion healthcare sector intervention fund, according to the minister.

“The Federal Government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bank of Industry (BOI), provided financial support for Duchess International Hospital. 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,” the minister said.

He says Nigeria would be able to save its foreign reserves, generate foreign cash, create employment, reverse brain drain, become a destination for medical tourists, and assure cheap and standard healthcare for Nigerians.

Figures compiled by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and monitored by Pulse show that 6 new confirmed cases were documented in Nigeria between the 7th and 9th of May 2022. Six additional cases have been reported from three different states: Rivers (3), Lagos (2), and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) (1)

In 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, 255,802 cases have been confirmed, 249,936 patients have been discharged, and 3,143 fatalities have been reported.