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Experts from across Africa were unanimous in their push for a sustainable homegrown healthcare system to drive the continent’s economic renaissance.
They harmonised their position during a panel discussion held during the 2025 Afreximbank Annual Meetings in Abuja.
The session, titled “Reclaiming Africa’s Destiny,” brought together Brian Deaver, the Chief Executive Officer of the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE); Oluranti Doherty, Managing Director of Export Development at Afreximbank; and Professor Ghulam Mufti, a leading haematologist from King’s College London. Together, they laid out a blueprint for transforming Africa’s development trajectory through strategic investments in health services and talent retention.
At the heart of the discussion was the newly inaugurated AMCE in Abuja, launched on June 5, 2025. The state-of-the-art medical facility is the cornerstone of Afreximbank’s vision to curb medical tourism, retain health-related capital on the continent and create exportable healthcare services.
“This hospital is not only about delivering care, but also about teaching, training, research, and building a workforce.
“We want to bring the standard of care available in the United States, the United Kingdom, and India here to Nigeria. There is no reason why African patients should need to travel thousands of miles to receive treatment,” Deaver said.
He stressed that the AMCE targets non-communicable diseases like cancer and cardiovascular illness, conditions that are increasingly affecting African populations but are often poorly treated due to lack of infrastructure.
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For Oluranti Doherty, the project exemplifies Afreximbank’s commitment to service-based development and economic self-reliance. “Export development is not only about goods,” she said. “It is also about services, and health is one of the most under-exported services in Africa.”
According to her, the AMCE initiative is designed not only to serve patients but also to build a resilient workforce and preserve national productivity. “We cannot talk about reclaiming Africa’s destiny without first making sure its people are healthy enough to pursue it,” Doherty said.
Professor Ghulam Mufti echoed the need for clinical excellence and collaborative learning. Renowned globally for training generations of haematologists, Mufti’s involvement in AMCE is a personal mission to support Africa’s medical sovereignty.
“We are not coming here to impose, we are coming here to learn and collaborate,” he stated, highlighting the importance of knowledge transfer and respectful partnerships.
Together, the panelists emphasized the broader significance of health infrastructure as an engine of economic growth and a symbol of self-belief. With an estimated 40% of Nigeria’s annual healthcare spending lost to outbound medical tourism, the panel argued that redirecting those funds internally could supercharge development — both economically and socially.
Deaver ended with a passionate call for retention of African talent. “We must stop the brain drain,” he urged. “We must equip young doctors, researchers, and nurses to believe that they can have fulfilling careers here in Africa. The AMCE is one piece of that puzzle, but we need many more.”
At its core, the discussion was about more than hospitals and policy. It was about dignity, ownership, and the power of investing in African solutions for African challenges.
