Abuja — In a bid to tackle medical tourism among Nigerians, the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) has performed groundbreaking procedures and advanced treatments in the six months since its commissioning, officials announced during a press conference in Abuja on Monday.
AMCE, which opened its US$300 million tertiary medical facility in June, was developed by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with King’s College Hospital London. The Cairo-based pan African financial institution plans to establish similar centres across Africa.
The AMCE Clinical Director of Cardiology, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim, said that three open-heart surgeries have been carried out in partnership with King’s College Hospital. The most recent was performed on Friday, he said, on a 60-year-old man who has since been discharged. According to Ibrahim, these achievements are largely due to the availability of state-of-the-art equipment, the presence of experienced specialists, and team work by the staff.
The AMCE Clinical Director of Oncology, Dr. Boules Gabriel disclosed that within just two months, the department has conducted 147 chemotherapy sessions and 30 radiotherapy sessions. He also noted that an 83-year-old patient, who was not fit for surgery, was successfully treated using a curative approach.
Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines
Gabriel emphasized that the oncology department is not introducing new drugs but is rather providing patients access to the most precise and advanced cancer treatments available globally, closer to home. He explained that the department’s focus is on patient care, outcome monitoring, and staff training.
“AMCE has handled cases where each of these patients would have had to leave the country if treatment had not been provided within the necessary period,” he said.
The Chief Medical Officer of AMCE, Dr. Aisha Umar, highlighted the significant expansion of the Centre’s cardiovascular services. She said that within a period of just five weeks, the team carried out more than ten interventional cardiac procedures, including coronary angiographies, elective pacemaker implantations, and primary percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI).
Umar added that the oncology unit offers cancer prevention and early detection services, diagnostics, essential interventions such as chemoport insertions, and high-quality diagnostic imaging. She further disclosed that hematology services at the Centre have expanded steadily, with improvements in diagnostic accuracy, safer transfusion practices through NAT screening, utilization of apheresis blood products, and plans to commence stem cell transplants in 2026.
“We now perform a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions for blood disorders, with strong integration between our laboratory and clinical teams to ensure fast and accurate decision-making,” Umar said.
She described the radiology department as the backbone of the hospital, noting that with advanced imaging technologies and skilled radiologists, the unit delivers precise diagnostics that improve outcomes across all specialties.
In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of AMCE, Brian Deaver, said the vision of the hospital was never just to build a modern facility, but to ensure access to highly specialized healthcare for Africans.
“When we first imagined AMCE, we were never trying to build ‘a nice hospital.’ Africa already has hospitals,”he said. “What Africa has lacked is access, access to highly specialized care, advanced technology, and multidisciplinary expertise, delivered reliably, safely, and at scale, right here at home.”
According to him, the goal is to for patients in Abuja, Abidjan, Dakar, or Lomé to receive world-class care without crossing an ocean. He noted that within barely half a year, AMCE has successfully performed its first open-heart surgeries and delivered complex, high-risk care with outcomes exceeding international standards.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Success!
Almost finished…
We need to confirm your email address.
To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you.
Error!
There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.
Deaver also noted that the Centre has carried out the first-ever stereotactic radiosurgery procedure in west Africa, not as a pilot or demonstration, but as a fully operational clinical service for patients who would otherwise have had to travel abroad.
AMCE Chief Operating Officer Anshul Govila said that the core objective of Afreximbank has been achieved by significantly reducing medical tourism among Nigerians and other Africans within six months of commissioning. AMCE’s services more economical than seeking treatment outside Nigeria.
The Centre’s long-term goal is to ensure that the majority of its workforce is comprised of Nigerians and other Africans.
