Efforts to find a lasting solution to medical tourism in the country have received a major boost, as Alliance Hospital announced that it has, without complications, successfully carried out 27 kidney transplants in Nigeria.
This breakthrough, if sustained, many Nigerians believe will help reduce continuous traveling by citizens abroad for medical treatment.
The Chief Medical Director of Alliance Hospital and Chief Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Christopher Otabor, who disclosed this while conducting Health journalists round the hospital, when he hosted the newly elected executive officers of the Association of Nigerian Health Journalists (ANHEJ) in Abuja, said that the vision of Alliance Hospital since its inception in 2011, is to interrupt and find solutions to medical tourism in the country.
He said, “Medical tourism is often talked about in Nigeria, but there is no solution, so when the opportunity came in 2014, the Alliance Hospital set its goal to provide efficient health care and to prevent medical tourism in the country.”
Explaining the activities of the hospital to newsmen, Otabor said the hospital is projecting a 200-bed hospital and a University of Medical Science side by side facilities, as the first indigenous hospital to achieve the standard in the health sector.
He further noted that Alliance Hospital has carried out IVF on over 60 women, 23 complex spine surgeries, 27 joint replacement surgery, 16 brain surgery, among others.
The Chief Medical Director said the hospital was able to achieve the feats as a result of its investment in manpower and modern equipments, maintaining that the hospital is poised to deliver quality healthcare services.
He therefore called for public, private partnership in the health sector for effective and efficient health care delivery.
While commending ANHEJ for the visit, Otabor noted that “health journalists are as important as the health minister, and so they ought to hold the government and the minister accountable for the health of the people”.
Earlier, the newly elected ANHEJ President, Joseph Kadiri said that the new exco had come to introduce themselves to one of the best hospitals in Abuja, and to partner with it for better health care delivery.
He added that the officials have been elected to run the affairs of ANHEJ in the next two years, and to contribute to the development of the country.
Kadiri said, “We are keen to collaborate with Alliance Hospital as an international hospital . Our members will like to improve the health status of Nigerians.
“We would like to write on the causes, and prevention of diseases, by having interviews with Alliance Hospital among others”.
