American Hospital Dubai launches Lagos office, connects with patients in Nigeria
By Chioma Obinna
The Chairman of American Hospital Dubai-Nigeria limited, Mahmoud Harbaji has said that 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.
This was unveiled at the Africa Launch Event of the American Hospital Dubai Nigeria Limited, which was held at its Lagos location along Bishop Aboyade Cole, ln Victoria Island, Lagos State.
The new initiative is the establishment of the first representative office of American Hospital Dubai in Africa here in Lagos State.
Harbaji attested that he has always recognised Nigeria’s potential and importance within Africa and together, American Hospital Dubai (AHD) through it’s representative office in Lagos can make a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of Nigerians.
The well attended launch event attracted top government officials, embassy staff, politicians, and traditional rulers, including the Permanent Secretary at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, Mr Dakuku Peterside, a former member of the House of Representatives, a veteran Nigerian actress, director, and businesswoman, Joke Silva, among many others.
The Consul General of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Nigeria, Dr Abdullah Al-mandoos acknowledged the efforts of Mr President and his brother, the Executive Governor of Lagos state, His Excellency Babajide Sanwo Olu for supporting them to reach and achieve their initiatives.
He added that with the support of his colleague, Mr Sherif, the CEO of the American Hospital Dubai Group l, they can see the reality of whatever they were thinking and planning since 2019.
On his part, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi recalled that when he first had a detailed discussion with Al-Mandoos regarding how the UAE, Lagos, and Nigeria can initiate some joint collaborative initiatives to strengthen the healthcare sector but they were slowed down by COVID-19
He added that he is representing the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-olu.
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Therefore, he is speaking the governor’s mind in saying that the opening of a representative office is a good first step.
He recounted that the governor in his meeting with the American Hospital Dubai team had said that “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, but “Lagos has a very a very definitive strategy. It’s encompassed in the Lagos State Development Plan (LSDP) 2052, which is a 30-year development plan for Lagos State.”
He stated that the GDP of Lagos State has increased from N27 trillion at the beginning of Sanwo-Olu’s first tenure to close to N45 million, which is a huge GDP for any governed space in Africa. Prof. Abayomi added that 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.”
According to him, Lagos state is a centre of commerce, and health is a very important component of the GDP of any community. This is why the government is very serious about providing universal healthcare coverage (UHC) 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,” added Abayomi.
He further acknowledged the efforts of the American Hospital Dubai-Nigeria Limited and the Lagos State Governor in making the initiative a reality.
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. “Many hospitals take patients from Nigeria, but very few are prepared to commit energy and resources developing that business,” said Tonye Princewill, a member of the Board, American Hospital Dubai – Nigeria Limited.
“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 in Victoria Island where officials talk to them and make their trip to Dubai very much easier from visas to flights to accommodation.
“Already, they have approved a second office in Abuja, and they’ve asked us to get space for a diagnostic centre in Lagos”.
SOURCE: Vanguard
