…say reforms must translate stability into investment, better healthcare, improved lives
By Gloria Ikibah
The Federal Government has described healthcare as critical economic infrastructure, saying investment in the health of Nigerians is essential to building human capital, improving productivity and sustaining long-term economic growth.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, stated this on Monday while commissioning NSIA MedServe Diagnostic Centres in Bauchi and Ibadan under the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority’s (NSIA) Healthcare Expansion Programme.
Oyedele said the significance of the projects went beyond the commissioning of new medical facilities, emphasising that a healthy population was better positioned to work, learn and contribute meaningfully to the economy.
He noted that illness, on the other hand, placed a heavy burden on households through medical bills, lost income and depleted savings.
The minister said the projects also demonstrated how public capital could be deployed to attract private and development financing into critical sectors of the economy.
“Government budgets alone cannot meet Nigeria’s development needs. The question cannot only be how much government spends. It must also be how much private and development capital government can mobilise”, he said.
Oyedele commended the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank Group for supporting the healthcare programme, particularly through long-term local currency financing.
He said such financing was appropriate for long-term assets whose revenues were generated in naira, adding that the model could be replicated in other priority sectors, including infrastructure, agriculture, energy and housing.
According to him, NSIA’s earlier investments in the healthcare sector had demonstrated the scale of unmet demand for specialised medical services in the country.
He said the MedServe LUTH Cancer Centre had treated more than 16,700 patients, delivered over 30,000 radiotherapy sessions and provided 25,000 chemotherapy treatments.
He further stated that diagnostic centres in Kano and Umuahia had served more than 410,000 patients by December 2025.
Oyedele said MedServe was now developing 23 new diagnostic centres across Nigeria in two phases, with three of the centres expected to have oncology units and another three equipped with cardiac catheterisation laboratories.
He said the expansion will make specialised diagnostic and treatment services more accessible to Nigerians, reducing the need for patients to travel long distances to access care and, in some cases, seek treatment abroad.
The minister linked the investment to the Federal Government’s efforts to reduce medical tourism and retain more economic value within Nigeria.
“Every procedure performed at home keeps value, jobs and expertise in our economy and eases pressure on foreign exchange,” he said.
Oyedele, however, said Nigeria’s ambition should extend beyond simply reducing the number of Nigerians travelling abroad for treatment.
He said the country should develop a competitive healthcare economy capable of not only meeting domestic demand but also attracting patients from other African countries.
To achieve this, he said, sustained investment would be required in medical infrastructure, equipment, human resources and the systems needed to keep healthcare facilities functional.
The minister stressed the need for Nigeria to retain and continually develop doctors, nurses, radiographers, laboratory scientists, technicians and other specialised healthcare workers.
He also called for greater domestic capacity in medical technology, equipment maintenance and pharmaceutical production.
Oyedele said the success of healthcare investments should not be measured by the number of facilities commissioned but by the quality and sustainability of services delivered to patients.
“The real test is whether the equipment still works in ten years, whether we retain qualified staff, and whether patients are treated with dignity, diagnosed earlier and able to afford the care they receive”, he noted.
He said the healthcare investments were consistent with the wider objective of the Federal Government’s economic reforms, which he described as an effort to convert macroeconomic stability into productive investment, improved public services and better living standards.
“Macroeconomic stability is not the destination. It is the foundation. We are converting stability into investment, investment into services, and growth into better lives”, he stated.
The minister congratulated the NSIA and MedServe teams, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Bauchi and Oyo State Governments, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, relevant healthcare institutions in Ibadan, the IFC and other partners involved in delivering the projects.
The Federal Government reaffirmed its commitment to partnerships that mobilise capital, strengthen critical infrastructure and translate economic reforms into measurable improvements in the lives of Nigerians.
