R-Jolad Plus: Enhancing Nigeria’s Human Capital Development Through Quality Health Services

Precious Ugwuzor 

The health of a nation is closely tied to its level of human development. Only healthy individuals can work efficiently and to their full potential. This underscores the truth of the saying, “Health is wealth.” A healthy population is more productive and can contribute more effectively to the development of the country’s economy, which in turn determines the level of its wealth.

One of the key challenges facing Nigeria’s healthcare system is inadequate infrastructure, with an estimated shortfall of 500,000 hospital beds. According to the Global Health Observatory’s assessment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) implementation and the World Health Organization’s 2021 report, Nigeria is ranked 163 out of 191 countries in the world. This represents an improvement from the country’s previous ranking of 183 out of 191 countries two decades ago. UHC is achieved when individuals and communities have access to a full range of healthcare services, including health promotion, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care, that are of high quality and affordable when needed.

Nigeria’s healthcare system comprises public and private facilities, and R-Jolad Hospital, a private health center, has been providing affordable and accessible healthcare services to Lagosians and Nigerians for the last four decades. The hospital is making a significant contribution to moving Nigeria closer to accessible healthcare for all. Its visible contribution and track record in Lagos State have earned it the nickname “The People’s Hospital,” a testament to its socio-economic impact on Nigerians, particularly low- and middle-income earners.

As a developing nation with a growing population of 211 million, increasing at a rate of 2.4%, representing an additional five million people in the population pool each year, according to World Bank data, demand for quality and affordable healthcare services will continue to rise. To meet this demand and further its mission of making good healthcare accessible and affordable, R-Jolad recently launched a new facility in Gbagada, Lagos, called R-Jolad Plus. It is a premium and affordable hospital chain designed to provide the middle-income class with a multispecialty medical experience.

The launch of the R-Jolad Plus brand couldn’t have come at a better time, as more Nigerians are becoming health-conscious and in need of quality yet affordable healthcare services. R-Jolad Plus is a premium 30-bed facility that offers specialized medical and diagnostic services to discerning Nigerians. The hospital provides end-to-end care, starting with consultations, diagnostics, and imaging, followed by treatment, surgery, recovery, and critical care for adults, children, and Newborn babies. In other words, R-Jolad Plus is designed to meet the medical needs of more Lagosians while providing a positive experience in one location at an affordable price.

The Lagos State Honorable Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, and other key stakeholders were present at the official launch of R-Jolad Plus. Prof. Abayomi commended the management of R-Jolad for the initiative and acknowledged brain drain in Nigeria as an issue due to the “Japa” of medical professionals.  “The unveiling of R-Jolad Plus facility is what the government is excited about because the facility has world-class equipment that skilled medical professionals can operate with and through this provide Nigerians the quality healthcare that they deserve.” On the issue of emigration, he said that there is nothing the government can do about the desires of the people to leave the shores of Nigeria, however, the government wants to limit the reasons why medical professionals will be leaving the country. 

According to him, it is acceptable for young medical professionals to go abroad to gain exposure and acquire more skills. However, the government’s plan is for these individuals to return to Nigeria in the next five to ten years with the knowledge and skills they have acquired. “We would like to see our young medical professionals who have left the country to return, but we cannot ask them to return to an unwelcoming environment. They have invested time and resources to gain skills, and when they return, there must be adequate healthcare facilities for them to practice what they have learned. This is part of the Lagos State Brain Gain Agenda.”

Regarding R-Jolad’s preparedness despite the “Japa syndrome,” the Managing Director of R-Jolad, Dr. Funsho Oladipo, said, “Despite the challenges faced by medical professionals in Nigeria, R-Jolad Group has a team comprising of well-trained and experienced Consultants, Medical Officers, Residents, and House officers. Recently, the hospital was accredited to train both Residents and House officers by the postgraduate colleges and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN, respectively.

“We are not only passionate about the people, but we are also passionate about the medical professionals, our world-class facility and technologies at R-Jolad Plus and at all of our other facilities, we are also intentional about creating a comfortable environment for our doctors, surgeons and other medical professionals to practice what they are skilled to do and also what they enjoy doing. We will continue to innovate to make the healthcare in Nigeria such that it will be a place our medical experts in the diaspora will be looking forward to coming back to, so that there will be brain gain and the people can enjoy more quality healthcare services.”

The Chairman of AfyA Care Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui Okauru, said, “To make Nigeria healthcare a better place, we all need to invest, and the investment is not only for the medical professionals alone, we need more role models who show that it is not only about the money but want to make a significant social impact. We are an investment company and no doubt we will need to look at our returns but it was a deliberate effort to figure out how to stay in business and focus on all the needs, R-Jolad is our first set of hospitals focusing on the lower, middle-income earners and a thank you to everyone who has invested in ensuring that more people in Nigeria will enjoy more quality and affordable healthcare through R-Jolad Plus.”

The heart of the new hospital is that it offers a wellness centre with comfortable suites, nourishing meals, physiotherapy, and quality attention to improving post-surgery outcomes as

part of its recovery and aftercare services. 

As part of the recovery and aftercare services, R-Jolad Plus Hospital also provides prompt service, medical consultation, a wide range of medical facilities, and medical diagnostic services. R-Jolad Plus also has a physiotherapy suite as well as an outpatient clinic where there is access to multiple specialised care services

at the primary and specialist levels. At R-Jolad Plus, the imaging services have been recently boosted by a CT-Scan machine as well as an Endoscopic Suite, both located at the Annex.

Supporting the need for a good healthcare, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 calls for a universal health coverage, access to safe and effective medicines and vaccines and health and wellbeing for all in 2030. For Nigeria to achieve this, there is a need for more investors to invest in the private hospitals to provide more healthcare facilities in Nigeria and to support in research and development to grow the access to affordable healthcare.