The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has committed $24.3 million in long-term naira financing to support the expansion of MedServe’s diagnostic and specialised healthcare services across Nigeria, as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to improve access to advanced medical care and reduce outbound medical tourism.
The IFC Regional Director, Olivier Buyoya, disclosed this at the commissioning of the MedServe diagnostic centre at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, saying the investment would bring reliable diagnostic services closer to Nigerians, promote early detection of diseases and reduce the financial burden associated with travelling long distances for specialised care.
The financing, supported by the World Bank Group’s International Development Association Private Sector Window, was structured in local currency to help mitigate foreign exchange risks, Buyoya said.
He said the growing burden of cancer, kidney and cardiovascular diseases had made the expansion of diagnostic capacity increasingly urgent, noting that late detection often makes treatment more difficult and expensive for patients and their families.
“Late detection often makes treatment more difficult and expensive for patients and their families,” he said.
Under the first phase of the expansion programme, MedServe is expected to increase its diagnostic centres from two to 15 and its oncology centres from one to four, while establishing three catheterisation laboratories across Nigeria.
The programme is also expected to create more than 17,000 jobs and train about 500 Nigerian medical specialists, according to Buyoya.
He said the IFC’s support went beyond financing, with its technical advisers working with MedServe on patient access, quality assurance, safety and compliance with international standards.
Buyoya described the partnership among MedServe, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), government and development finance institutions as an example of how public and private capital could be combined to address gaps in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
“The true measure of this centre will be whether more patients receive reliable answers earlier, access appropriate care, and face fewer financial barriers,” he said.
The expansion is part of a Federal Government healthcare infrastructure programme under which 10 MedServe diagnostic centres and six cancer centres were approved as part of 16 major health projects by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in February 2024.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, said 10 diagnostic centres had been completed, while three cancer centres had also been completed and three others were under construction.
“Promise made and promise kept. These 10 have been completed. We are now inaugurating them. This one at UCH is one of them,” Pate said.
He disclosed that plans were underway for a major upgrade of UCH, describing it as Nigeria’s first teaching hospital and a national centre of medical excellence.
“I want to assure all the stakeholders that we have thoughts and plans on the way for a major advancement of the infrastructure,” Pate said.
Pate also identified health worker shortages, migration and remuneration as major challenges facing the sector. He said the government was working to improve compensation within available resources and had doubled quotas for training medical, nursing and pharmacy students.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Prof. Taiwo Oyedele, said the investment was part of efforts to reduce Nigerians’ dependence on overseas medical treatment.
Oyedele said the UCH facility was among 13 centres under Phase One of the NSIA’s healthcare expansion programme through MedServe and was expected to serve about 300,000 Nigerians within its first two years.
“Nigerians have long travelled abroad for treatment that can be provided here at home. Our ambition, therefore, is to reduce outbound medical tourism,” he said.
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The Chief Medical Director of UCH, Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, said the facility, which houses a radiodiagnostic centre and cardiac catheterisation laboratory, would strengthen the hospital’s capacity to provide timely diagnosis and specialised treatment.
He said the project also reinforced UCH’s mandate in clinical services, research and training, adding that the partnership with NSIA would improve access to specialised care and contribute to better health outcomes.
The commissioning forms part of MedServe’s broader expansion as government and private-sector partners seek to address longstanding gaps in healthcare infrastructure, specialist skills and access to advanced medical services across Nigeria.
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