AMINA HUSSAINI
The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) in partnership with the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Abia State, has built a $5.5 million Diagnostic Centre.
The Diagnostic Centre is to serve the South-East and South-South regions of the country.
The virtual commissioning of the diagnostic centre was held on Tuesday and witnessed by the Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, and Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora.
Others who attended the virtual commissioning are: the Chairman of the Board of FMCU, John Danboyi; Managing Director of the NSIA, Uche Orji and Chief Medical Director of the FMCU, Azubuike Onyebuchi.
Ahmed said the new diagnostic centre will change the face of the healthcare system in Nigeria.
She reassured Nigerians that the government has put in place various measures to tackle the health challenges in the country.
According to her, the investment made by the NSIA in Lagos University Teaching Hospital Cancer Centre, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia Diagnostic Centre are some of the measures to bridge the gap in the nation’s health care system.
She, however, noted that the measures are not adequate as the government alone does not have the financial resources to address all the challenges in the health sector.
“There is an increasing awareness that the health of people affects their productivity and the nation’s economic growth as a whole. As the saying goes, ‘a healthy nation is a wealthy nation’.
“The administration recognizes that progress in the health sector is handicapped by several bottlenecks. With full appreciation of the issues, we have worked and continue to work to ensure that systems are introduced to bridge these gaps.
“One such step in this direction is our direct intervention in addressing non-communicable diseases such as cancer.
“We have created an enabling environment for institutions such as the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority to execute high impact projects on time and on budget, delivering immense value for the Nigerian people.”
Abia State Governor stated that healthcare is one of the priority areas of his administration, adding that only a healthy people can develop an economy.
He commended the Federal Government on its choice of Umuahia as the location for the diagnostic centre, but canvassed for more of such projects in the state.
Ikpeazu also advocated an effective legislation that will address some of the bottlenecks being experienced in the provision of the much-needed interventions in the healthcare sector.
He assured the vulnerable in the state of government support in assisting to reduce the cost of healthcare in the state.
In his remarks at the commissioning, NSIA Managing Director said that the authority chose to partner with tertiary medical institutions including Federal Medical Centres and Teaching Hospitals to create Centres of Excellence specifically designed to address the health challenges in the country.
Orji said, “Our vision for healthcare is a three-fold which centres around reducing medical tourism, developing and investing in centres of excellence which will provide world-class healthcare services domestically, and lastly, providing tools which will ensure that our healthcare professionals are able to deliver at the highest level.
“The completion of the NSIA-Umuahia Diagnostic Centre is expected to raise the bar in the quality and standard of diagnostic services in the South East and South-South region for the benefit of the Nigerian people.”
The new Centre, which is located within the premises of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Umuahia, was conceptualised by the NSIA to serve the two regions of South East and South South.
The facility, which took six years to be completed, is the third facility by the NSIA in its efforts at expanding healthcare portfolio, coming after the NSIA Kano Diagnostic Centre and the NSIA LUTH Cancer Centre, Lagos.
The investment arm of the Agency funded the construction of the diagnostic centre, including the acquisition and installation of modern laboratory and radiology equipment which will aid the provision of comprehensive diagnostics for the delivery of the highest quality of services.
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