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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Executive Council meeting on Tuesday approved N12 billion for critical health infrastructure upgrades across teaching hospitals in six states.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, made the disclosure while briefing State House Correspondents at the end of the meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu.
He reiterated Tinubu administration’s commitment to expanding healthcare access and advancing Nigeria’s role in the continental health regulatory space.
Pate said the approved N12 billion will fund the procurement of major diagnostic equipment, including three MRI machines and two CT scanners, across key tertiary institutions.
The institutions are; “University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Akwa Ibom, Federal Medical Center, Abeokuta, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Federal Medical Center, Keffi, Nasarawa State, Modibbo Adamawa University Teaching Hospital, Yola, Adamawa State and Federal Teaching Hospital, Kebbi State.
Pate highlighted that the contracts also cover broader infrastructure upgrades to support medical education and patient care.
“Gradually, piece by piece, we are building our health infrastructure,” he said, adding that improved facilities have already started attracting patients from foreign countries including the United Kingdom, and the United States.
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“You can see that gradually, piece by piece, we have been building our health infrastructure, but in the front end, but also at the higher level in the teaching hospitals. And we know that important things are happening. People are now beginning from the region to come to Nigeria and receive quality healthcare. This is already happening, including people from far away places like the United Kingdom and United States.
“So despite what we may want to believe about Nigeria’s healthcare system, there are good things happening, the transformation that the President promised is beginning to happen. We need to sustain it, and we’re investing, and we continue to invest in that direction.”
Pate also said the council ratified the African Medicines Agency (AMA) treaty.
According to him, the treaty marks a key step toward integrating its medical products into the broader African market.
Initially adopted by the African Union in 2019, the treaty aims to harmonise regulatory standards and boost access to safe, quality medicines across the continent.
“With this treaty, what we produce as part of our value chain expansion will have access to a much wider market,” Pate said. “This means what is made in Nigeria will, over time, be made in Africa.”
He commended President Tinubu’s leadership, calling the treaty’s ratification a “major milestone” in Nigeria’s journey toward medical self-sufficiency and industrialisation.
