Examining NSIA Healthcare Intervention Programmes

Peter Uzoho writes on the intervention of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority in the health sector

Healthcare infrastructure in Nigeria is still underdeveloped and lacks modern medical facilities.  The country’s healthcare indicators are some of the worst in Africa, according to a report by the International Trade Administration (ITA).

Nigeria has one of the fastest growing populations globally and with 5.5 live births per woman and a population growth rate of 3.2 percent annually, is estimated to reach 400 million people by 2050.

However, medical professionals are in short supply, with only about 35,000 doctors despite needing 237,000, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) figures, partially due to massive migration of healthcare workers overseas.

As a result, Nigeria loses at least $1.5 billion every year to medical tourism, according to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

To reverse this trend and ensure improved access to healthcare, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), in 2018 took a bold step by setting up the NSIA Healthcare Development and Investment Company (NHDIC) to transform the domestic healthcare sector and elevate the quality of service to international standards. Five years since taking that step, the implications of this visionary decision have been far-reaching. 

The NSIA’s approach was to consider the sector from both a social impact and commercial returns standpoint. The Authority hinged its strategy on co-locating NSIA healthcare centres of excellence within federal tertiary medical institutions.

This approach would enable the Authority provide equipment, operatorship, working capital and technical expertise while the designated partner institution would provide land, clinicians and expertise, and patient traffic.

Seeking to develop a blue ocean solution, the NSIA invested $22m in three-flagship projects and in so doing, created NSIA-LUTH Cancer Centre, Lagos, (NLCC), NSIA-Kano Diagnostic Centre, Kano, (NKDC), and NSIA-Umuahia Diagnostic Centre, Umuahia, (NUDC), concurrently.

Operational since 2019, the NLCC has treated over 7,000 patients to date. When it opened its doors, NLCC was the first to install a linear accelerator in Nigeria and today, remains the centre with the highest number of linear accelerators in West Africa. 

The Centre is equipped with several top-of-the-line medical equipment including three linear accelerators, a brachytherapy system, a 1.5 Tesla MRI, a 128 slice CT scanner, a mammogram, digital X-rays, ultrasound scanners and laboratory pathology systems among others.

NKDC, Kano and NUDC, Umuahia provide comprehensive radio imaging and laboratory diagnostic services. The centres have recorded unprecedented success in terms of exponential growth in client patronage. To date, both centres have rendered diagnostic services to nearly 120,000 clients within just three years of operations.

All three centres have recorded excellent success commercially and delivered significant social impact for the benefit of Nigerians. 

What was clear from operating these three centers, was that as long as the facilities needed to effectively diagnose are available and reasonably priced, then citizens and residents can diagnose ailments quickly, accurately and early enough to receive treatment and avoid untimely deaths. 

This is why over the next five years, the NSIA would be building 23 new modern medical diagnostic centres, three Oncology centres, and six Catheterization Laboratories across the country’s six geopolitical zones.

In a bid to achieve this, the NSIA recently took over the management of the Enugu Diagnostic Centre, effectively making Enugu State to effectively joins Lagos, Kano and neighbouring Abia State where NSIA’s impactful healthcare projects are already saving lives and bringing succour to the people. 

To effectively manage the healthcare facilities, the NSIA launched two of its flagship companies namely the NSIA Advanced Medical Service Ltd (MedServe) and Equilease Systems Limited (Equilease).

MedServe is being set up to serve as the vehicle to deliver NSIA’s healthcare expansion objectives. 

Its goal is to provide high quality and affordable healthcare services and ensure equitable geographic access to these services across the country. 

On the other hand, EquiLease is a specialised equipment leasing service provider. Conceived as a market disruptor, the company would provide medical equipment leasing services, leveraging its strategic advantage to catalyse investments in healthcare institutions and facilitating the acquisition of equipment to improve the quality of healthcare in Nigeria. 

Equilease would partner with medical equipment manufacturers to offer innovative financing and leasing programs for advanced medical equipment. 

At the onset, it would offer services exclusively to MedServe as an anchor client until the concept is proven.

The transfer of the Enugu State Medical Diagnostic Centre from the Enugu State Government to the Authority was part of the three-part event. 

Following the transfer, the Centre would be rehabilitated and upgraded to deliver both Diagnostic and Oncology services covering automated laboratory services ranging from imaging to radiotherapy, chemotherapy, brachytherapy and much more. 

The Centre would be managed and operated by MedServe while re-equipping would be delivered through the leasing services provided by EquiLease. 

The complete overhaul of the Centre’s infrastructure would position the facility to meet the growing demand for quality healthcare services in the Eastern region of the country and beyond.

The official transfer is off the back of the agreements signed in September 2022 where both parties committed to it. 

Under the programme, the NSIA would develop 23 new modern medical diagnostic centres, three oncology centres, and seven catheterisation laboratories across the country’s six geopolitical zones.

Delivering his remarks on the three-part event, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, NSIA, Mr. Aminu Umar-Sadiq said, “Over the past five years, we have built a strong and successful portfolio of healthcare service delivery centres. 

“The transfer of the Enugu Centre for upgrade and rehabilitation is one of the steps in our journey towards making healthcare accessible and affordable for all Nigerians. The Centre is one of the 23 centres to be upgraded for Oncology and Diagnostic services.”

Speaking further he described MedServe and Equilease as transformative, market-disrupting entities that would deliver a unique set of connected solutions to bridge the gaps in Nigeria’s healthcare industry. 

He added that the outcome from the creation of these entities is expected to strengthen the industry’s value chain and unclog the constraints created by insufficient financial investments, inadequate manpower capacity and substandard services.

He said, “NSIA also recognises that a significant number of existing medical facilities and indeed care providers are unable to afford new equipment, in part on account of the high upfront costs and currency mismatch constraints. These centers therefore settle for inadequate equipment, or indeed none at all. 

“To address these challenges, NSIA has also created a wholly owned company, called Equilease Systems, which will help to reduce the burden of equipment acquisition by qualified hospitals, medical facilities and care providers.  

“Equilease will do this by providing bespoke leasing solutions to medical facilities by entering into strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers. 

“To optimise the value proposition before making the offering available to third-parties, Equilease will launch its operations by first entering a leasing arrangement with MedServe for its required medical equipment, allowing Medserve focus on the operatorship and optimal utilisation of its equipment.

“In addition to leasing, Equilease will also test the possibility of expanding its services to include in sourcing of operations and maintenance as well as other value-added services.

“Upon conclusion of the proof-of-concept period between EquiLease and Medserve, Equilease can then commence offering external clients a comprehensive leasing solution for their medical equipment needs, borrowing from all the key learnings of its proof-of-concept engagement with Medserve.

“So today, Enugu joins Lagos, Kano and neighbouring Abia State where NSIA’s impactful healthcare projects are already saving lives and bringing succour to the people. NSIA is excited at the prospect of playing a central role in improving the quality of medical services and expanding healthcare infrastructure across the country starting with Enugu, through Medserve and EquiLease.”

Speaking at the event, the Governor of Enugu State said the physical and mental well-being of the workforce in any state is a function of the quality of healthcare services available.

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi stressed that the journey to achieving the strategic partnership between the federal government through the NSIA and his administration was one of the deliberate, bold and courageous steps taken by his government to stem the tide of healthcare deficit in the state.

He said the project would address the issues of capital flight, medical tourism and preventable deaths arising from the lack of diagnostic testing centres in part of the country.

The governor added, “Healthcare inexorably determines the direction of the economy. The partnership with NSIA to transform this facility with the promise of significantly better equipment and services will go a long way towards contributing to healthcare security in the state. 

“With this, our state will be one of the few states equipped with world-class healthcare infrastructure and amenities.” 

Also speaking at the event, a Non-Executive Director at the NSIA, Dr. Ogechi Pascal-Ejiogu said the NSIA, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health, has signed series of agreements to modernise and expand healthcare services through private sector participation. 

Under these agreements, she explained that the NSIA is looking to developing the capacity of specialist hospitals and diagnostic centers to provide advanced medical services across the country under phase II of its healthcare expansion programme. 

She stated that the Enugu State Diagnostic Centre would be the NSIA’s first in this phase.

According to her, “Our vision is to elevate the Centre to world-class status. We intend upgrading the centre using state-of-the-art equipment so that both patient and nearby hospitals are supported with accurate and timely medical results regarding health conditions. 

“The centre will also provide oncology treatment. It will double as a cancer care centre for the south-east and south-south region. 

“When we are done with the rehabilitation and re-equipping, it will be transformed into a full-service location for diagnostics and oncology.

“Under the auspices of His Excellency, Governor Ugwuanyi and the good people of Enugu State, we shall assume ownership of the Enugu State Diagnostic Centre and commence the process of retrofitting it into a world-class diagnostic centre, fitting for the people of Enugu and environs to receive first class service.

She noted that the NSIA board remains passionate and committed to addressing the gaps in Nigeria’s healthcare ecosystem and also to providing high quality medical services across the country. 

In his remarks, the Enugu State Governor-elect, Dr. Peter Mbah, commended the efforts and partnership between the federal government and the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State over the official handover of the state-of-the-art Enugu Diagnostic and Oncology Centre built by the state to aid quick and early diagnosis of diseases and for the treatment of cancer.