Nigeria: Health Sector To Be Boosted By Establishing High Quality, Reputable Centres

According to the Nigerian chapter of the Stanford Seed Transformation Network, it is vital that more reputable and reliable specialist health institutions and centers are established in Nigeria to boost the nation’s healthcare sector’s profile. The President of the Nigerian chapter, Mr. Bryan Hammond, stated this during a company visit to the Nordica Fibroid Care Centre in Lagos. He said he believed that such an initiative would help improve the reputation of the health sector in Nigeria. The Nordica Fibroid Centre is a specialized clinic dedicated to non-invasive and minimally invasive treatment of uterine fibroids and adenomyosis, both common gynecological conditions in Nigerian women.

Hammond, who led the Stanford Seed Transformation Network delegation to Nigeria, said the network includes about 800 business leaders who work in programs in Nigeria, other African countries, and India. The visit, he says, is to be an example of what they called to be the Leadership Lab.

“We are about 140 members in Nigeria, we have programmes for entrepreneurs and mentorship as well so that that we can train members in all sectors. We are in Dr. Ajayi’s Fibroid Care Centre to know more about what he is doing. This Centre opened last year and we have invited our members to come and see the services and observe what it offers. Among ourselves, we ask what problems we may have and we try to help one another. We do it physically and online. One of the things about this Network is the support because as business leaders there may be challenges. Healthcare is lacking in many parts of Nigeria and Dr. Ajayi and Nordica are providing high quality reputable, reliable services. The outcome is very good and it will go a long way to improve the sector and its overall reputation with people like him providing such services. Healthcare is important and when you have somebody who is sick in the family – this time a woman – it affects everyone. When you’re trying to get pregnant, you cannot, or you are in extreme pain and there is also the issue of misdiagnosis, anything that helps the Nigerian, people, to boost the economy, and boost job creation is welcome.”

While he noted that Ajayi and his team were doing a great job, Hammond called for the establishment of more centres in the country. He said that, “If we had 100 of these centres in Nigeria it would not be enough and we congratulate him for what he has done on behalf of the Network.”

He explained that while the Network is based in California, but the founders had the idea to train both the African and Indian business leaders so that they could employ millions and help them get out of poverty.

Dr. Abayomi Ajayi, the Managing Director/CEO of the Nordica Fibroid Care Centre, also said the Centre is a specialty clinic that is dedicated to the non-invasive and minimally invasive treatment of uterine fibroids and adenomyosis. According to Ajayi, entrepreneurs in healthcare need to be encouraged. “When anybody across the world has something to do, members of the Network come visiting and they will report back. The programme has spread to West and East Africa, India, South America, etc. The idea is to develop entrepreneurs in all those countries.”

According to Ajayi, the Lagos fibroid centre has the third High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound, HIFU, machine in Africa after Egypt and South Africa. The HIFU is a relatively new, non-surgical and non-invasive means for the removal of fibroids in women and since it started operation in 2021, the centre has successfully treated dozens of fibroid cases without recording any incidence of undesirable side effects on the patients’ health.