Nigeria now health care destination for US, UK citizens, others – Health Minister, Pate

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, has disclosed that citizens from the United States of America, the United Kingdom and other foreign nationals now come to Nigeria for medical care.

Pate who made the assertion while briefing State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Tuesday, said the President Bola Tinubu administration has steadily positioned Nigeria as a growing hub for quality healthcare and is now attracting patients not just from the West African subregion but also from countries as far as the United States and the United Kingdom.

“People are now beginning to come from the subregion, and even from faraway places like the UK and the US, to receive quality healthcare in Nigeria,” the Minister said.

“Despite the challenges we face, significant progress is being made, and the transformation promised by President Tinubu is already taking shape.

“We are investing in infrastructure, human resources, and regulatory frameworks to create a healthcare system that Nigerians can rely on and that attracts patients from across the globe,” he said.

The Minister added that a key decision reached during the FEC meeting was Nigeria’s ratification of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) Treaty, which aims to harmonize medical regulatory standards across the continent which had already been adopted by the African Union in 2019, and seeks to improve access to safe, high-quality, and effective medical products through a Pan-African regulatory framework.

“So far, 37 African Union member states have signed the treaty, with 26 having ratified it. Today, the Federal Executive Council directed that Nigeria take all necessary actions to give full effect to this treaty,” Pate stated.

The minister explained that the adoption of the treaty would expand Nigeria’s pharmaceutical market beyond national borders, allowing locally manufactured medical products to meet continental standards.

“What we produce here will not just be ‘Made in Nigeria,’ but over time, it will be recognized as ‘Made in Africa.’ This is a significant step towards self-sufficiency in medical products and pharmaceutical industrialization,” he added.

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