The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), managers of Nigeria’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, along with IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, are looking to increase investments in the Nigerian health sector.

Uche Orji, Managing Director and CEO of NSIA, said: “NSIA seeks to catalyze private sector investment in the healthcare space by establishing public-private partnerships and innovative solutions."

"While the medical sector is among the most challenging in terms of establishing investment models, it is also one of the most impactful and is a core NSIA focus,” he added.

Current research shows that more than 30,000 Nigerian’s embark on medical tourism annually and spend more than $1bn of the country’s limited foreign exchange in the process.

By actively engaging stakeholders on the issues limiting investments in the healthcare sector, NSIA seeks to reverse this trend and galvanize ideas that remove barriers to investments.

The outcome of the exercise will complement the NSIA’s ongoing interventions in the sector through the NSIA Healthcare Development and Investment Company (NHDIC).

NSIA, through its healthcare investment vehicle, NSIA Healthcare Development and Investment Company, has entered into Memorandum of Cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Health and six Federal Medical Centres / Federal Teaching Hospitals across all six geopolitical zones of the country to develop diagnostic centers and specialist healthcare facilities to be co-located within the federal healthcare institutions.

IFC is the world’s largest multilateral investor in private healthcare, managing an active portfolio of about $1.3bn worth of health investments.

IFC investments in service providers, pharmaceuticals and medical technology are aimed at promoting greater access to affordable, high-quality healthcare.

Eme Essien Lore, IFC Country Manager for Nigeria, said: “IFC is committed to help increase access to affordable quality healthcare services by financing and facilitating financing for integrated networks. This will support the development of critical health infrastructure and attract private capital into the sector."

"We are working with NSIA to boost investments in the healthcare sector and bridge the gap in undersupply of quality healthcare in Nigeria,” she said.

The NSIA and iFC have recently co-hosted a hospital sector focused roundtable to foster collaboration among participants for joint advocacy, project development, and investments that will develop the private health sector in the country.

About 50 stakeholders attended the event, including senior executives from some local and foreign private hospitals, Health Management Organizations, and other players in the Nigerian private health sector.

Participants identified key areas for growth and expansion, discussed lessons from other countries and how output from the roundtable think tank will be used in developing the sector.