The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded a grant of $3 million to three private hospitals in Nigeria for the improvement of healthcare delivery.
The Director, USTDA, Enoh Ebong, who announced this at the U.S. Embassy, Abuja, on Monday, said that over 25,000 Nigerians would benefit from the project.
She listed the benefiting hospitals as: Lily Hospitals Ltd., Cedarcrest Hospital, and Mobihealthcare Limited (Mobihealth)
Ebong explained that the aim of the project was to provide access to good healthcare to Nigerians by partnering healthcare providers.
According to her, the project entails leveraging financing with reasonable investment in grants that will unlock millions of doors financing to implement it.
The grant to Lily Hospitals Limited is for a feasibility study to support the refurbishment and operation of 10 healthcare facilities in Nigeria.
These facilities, located in multiple urban hubs across the country, will serve up to 25,000 patients annually.
She said that Lily selected Maryland-based Anadach Consulting Group, LLC, to conduct the study.
The Director said that the project would also increase access to modern, quality healthcare systems at a lower cost and in a shorter timeframe than commissioning and constructing new healthcare facilities.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Austin Okogun, the CEO of Lily Hospitals,said that the USTDA grant was very timely, adding that it supported Lily’s expansion strategy of reactivating underperforming healthcare facilities.
The grant to Cedarcrest Hospitals is for a feasibility study to develop a comprehensive cancer treatment centre in Abuja that will provide diagnosis and treatment services for up to 1,000 patients per centre.
In his remark, Dr. Felix Ogedengbe, Cedarcrest’s CEO, said the hospital was very delighted to be a recipient of the grant from USTDA.
“This grant will no doubt aid in achieving the dream of setting up a comprehensive cancer diagnosis and treatment centre, make these services available locally, and ensure in-bound medical tourism from the subregion,” he said.
Ebong further explained that the grant to Mobihealth was for a feasibility study to support the expansion of its telehealth services from Nigeria to Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, and Egypt.
The Director added that it was a collaborative effort to expand healthcare access for 100,000 individuals per year across Africa.
Also speaking, Mobihealth CEO, Funmi Adewara, said the USTDA grant will enable the hospital expand the scope of its integrated telehealth, electronic medical records, and digitalisation services to several other African markets over the next few years.(NAN)
