[UPDATED] Healthcare is a goldmine in Nigeria – Dr. Jide Idris


Dr. Jide Idris, Lagos state commissioner of health has described the Nigerian healthcare sector as a goldmine that is attracting international companies to the country. He stated this while declaring open Medic West Africa Exhibition & Congress 2013.



Speaking at the opening ceremony held at Eko Hotel & Exhibition Center, Lagos, he said the nation needs to put its house in order to benefit from the increasing interests of foreign companies in the nation’s healthcare industry.

“Healthcare is a goldmine in Nigeria and everyone is coming,” he said.

While stating that universal healthcare is very essential, he said Nigeria’s large population presents investors with unique opportunities as well as challenges.

He said: “Population is an asset, but there are numerous problems in the area of human resources.”

He therefore enjoined the foreign companies that are participating in the exhibition and congress to focus on building local capacity instead of compounding the brain drain problem the health sector in Nigeria is contending with.

He reiterated the commitment of the Lagos state government to the promotion of medical tourism in Nigeria with the aim of developing the health sector.

In his remark, Dr. Olu Soyinka, Ogun state commissioner of health enjoined the foreign companies participating in the exhibition and congress to become more interested in becoming partners and not just vendors of latest technologies.

He said the exhibitors have the technology that can answer the questions that health professionals in Nigeria are asking. He also called for innovative ways of financing that would enable more Nigerian medical facilities to be able to procure the equipments on display at the congress.

He also advised discussants to focus on issues concerning primary healthcare.

“Most basic medical equipments are not available at the primary healthcare centers. We need your help to come up with ways through which we can make some of the machines available at our primary healthcare centers,” he said.

According to the organizers, Medic West Africa is a three-day congress and exhibition “that will provide a transparent platform for both consumers and service providers to understand the latest trends and drivers in the healthcare industry in Nigeria and West Africa.”

Click to view images taken at the event

1 comments:

  1. Your blog is thus informative … carry on the nice work!!!!

    ReplyDelete