NSIA’s Intervention Will Stimulate Private Investments In Health Sector, Says Orji

The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority has said its interventions in the healthcare sector would assist to galvanize the much-needed investments from the private sector.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, NSIA, Mr. Uche Orji said this during an exclusive interview with THE WHISTLER.

Orji told this newspaper that already, the Authority is currently in discussion with an external investor that would invest in the healthcare sector, adding that is being pursued by the NSIA.

In addition, the NSIA boss said discussions are ongoing with Private Equity Funds that have indicated interest in partnering with the Authority to invest in the healthcare sector.

Orji said through the investments made by the NSIA in the Teaching Hospitals and Federal Medical Centers, the agency has been able to prove that Public Private Partnership arrangements can help to address infrastructure challenges.

He said “Secondly, we are seeing Private Equity Funds trying to partner with us and inviting us to invest. One thing we have been able to show is that Public Private Partnership in teaching hospitals and Federal Medical Centers can work.

“As investors are seeing that we are able to make it work, then you may see more and more parties coming into the country to do PPPs in that area.

“We are seeing medical equipment and private leasing company coming up and these are areas of interest. We are saying that in addition to building our own, we have capacity to invest in others doing so too.

“So, we will support the healthcare sector the way we support agriculture, roads, power and we are going to put a flag to it.

When asked what motivated the NSIA to invest in the health care sector, he said this was based on the conviction that the sector had suffered some years of neglect.

This, neglect, according to him, had made equipment that are needed in the sector to become inadequate.

Making reference to some reports, he said that six out of 10 black Doctors in the United States are Nigerians adding that this shows the high ratio of Nigerian medical practitioners in the US.

He added, “The health sector is one of the six strategic investment areas for the NSIA. You cannot talk about future generation without being healthy and alive. And so, we wanted to invest in this as a strategic and important area for Nigeria.

“Secondly, we believe the health sector has suffered some years of neglect and so equipment, for example, that is needed in certain places is not as adequate as they should be.”

“Based on personal experience, when I lived in the US, one of the areas Nigeria has comparative advantage is in Medicine.

“I have read some estimates that say ‘six out of 10 black doctors in the USA are Nigerian.’ I am not sure the exact ratio but that gives you a sense of the high number of Nigerian medical professionals in the USA

“One could reasonably estimate that six out of every ten black Doctors in America are Nigerians.

“But it just so happens that we have not equipped our hospitals and healthcare facilities within the country to enable them to operate effectively to deliver life-saving care”.

“Thirdly, the health sector is an economically viable one which if accorded due attention has the potential to create significant opportunities not just for our Doctors to work, but also for patients to spend less on the cost of care.”