By Doris Obinna
Chairman, American Hospital Dubai-Nigeria Limited, Mahmoud Harbaji, has said the establishment of a world-class representative office in Lagos will serve as a vital link between the Dubai-based hospital and patients in local communities in Nigeria.
Speaking at the Africa launch of the American Hospital Dubai-Nigeria Limited, in Lagos, he said the new initiative was a recognition of Nigeria’s potential and importance within Africa.
He said with it, the hospital, through its representative office in Lagos, can make a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of Nigerians.
Consul General of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Nigeria, Abdullah Al-Mandoos, acknowledged the efforts of President Bola Tinubu and Governor Babajide Sanwo Olu of Lagos State, to support them to reach and achieve their initiatives.
He said with the support of Chief Executive Officer, AHD Group 1, Sherif Beshara, the reality of whatever that was thought and planned since 2019, has come to fruition.
Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, recalled when he first discussed with Al-Mandoos regarding how the UAE, Lagos and Nigeria could engage in some joint collaborative initiatives to strengthen the healthcare sector.
Abayomi recalled the governor, in his meeting with the AHD team, saying: “Lagos very much welcomes this initiative. If Lagosians are going to Dubai for medical interventions, we would certainly want that journey to be as seamless, as safe and as problem-free as possible with more discounts via the office.”
The commissioner said Lagos has a definitive healthcare strategy encompassed in the Lagos State Development Plan, (LSDP) 2052, which is a 30-year development plan for Lagos State.
“The GDP of Lagos State has increased from N27 trillion at the beginning of Sanwo-Olu’s first tenure to close to N45 trillion, which is a huge GDP for any governed space in Africa. Lagos has 35 huge general hospitals that see up to a thousand patients in a day and what the state needs is subspecialty general hospitals where things like neurosurgery, complex cancer treatment, kidney transplants, among many others can be done,” he said.
According to him, commerce and health are very important components of the GDP of any community, which is why “the Lagos State government is very serious about providing universal healthcare coverage for the masses. Lagos was found to be the 8th city in Africa with the best healthcare services after Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Nairobi, Tunis and Cairo.”
Acknowledging the efforts of the American Hospital Dubai-Nigeria Limited and the governor in making the initiative a reality, he said, the Lagos representative office of the AHD would function as an embassy for patients in Nigeria with intent to access care from the Dubai-based facility.
“The expansion into Nigeria, which demonstrates the facility’s commitment to invest in Nigeria, is aimed to make accessing care in Dubai very seamless and convenient,” he said.
Also, a member of the board, American Hospital Dubai-Nigeria Limited, Tonye Princewill, said: “Many hospitals take patients from Nigeria but very few are prepared to commit energy and resources developing that business.
“For those people who want to go to AHD, instead of going online making searches/enquiries they can physically come to the Lagos representative office on Victoria Island where officials talk to them and make their trip to Dubai very much easier, from visas to flights to accommodation.
“Already, a second office in Abuja has been approved and we have been asked to get space for a diagnostic centre in Lagos as well.”
The launch attracted top government officials, embassy staff, politicians, traditional rulers, including the Permanent Secretary at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Olusegun Ogboye, Dakuku Peterside, a former member of the House of Representatives, a veteran Nigerian actress, director, and businesswoman, Joke Silva, among many others.