By Onu Okorie

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NSIA, Aminu Umar-Sadiq has disclosed that Nigeria has saved more than $200 million in foreign exchange outflows through specialised healthcare services delivered locally under the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority’s NSIA healthcare investment programme.
He said this while highlighting the impact of the Authority’s investments in oncology, diagnostics and other specialised medical services across the country.
He said the intervention was designed to reduce Nigeria’s long-standing dependence on overseas medical treatment by developing the capacity to provide quality and affordable specialised healthcare locally.
According to Umar-Sadiq, the NSIA’s healthcare strategy has produced measurable results, with its flagship MedServe-LUTH Cancer Centre MLCC in Lagos delivering more than 25,000 radiotherapy sessions and 10,000 chemotherapy treatments to about 15,000 unique patients since its inception.
Commissioned in May 2019, the centre became the first oncology facility in Nigeria to offer 3D Conformal Radiotherapy and currently has the largest concentration of radiotherapy equipment in West Africa.
Umar-Sadiq said the quality and affordability of treatment at the centre had also contributed to cases of “reversed medical tourism”, with Nigerians who previously travelled abroad for treatment being referred back to the country.
He said treatment at the centre could cost less than half the price of comparable treatment overseas, thereby making specialised care more accessible while keeping scarce foreign exchange within the Nigerian economy.
The NSIA chief executive said the importance of building domestic healthcare capacity became particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, when international travel restrictions prevented many Nigerians from accessing treatment abroad.
“At a critical moment for patients requiring specialised care, MLCC provided continuity of advanced cancer treatment within Nigeria,” he said.
With the commissioning of new facilities expected to continue from mid-2026, the NSIA said its healthcare investment strategy would remain focused on expanding access, retaining expertise and reducing the need for Nigerians to seek specialised treatment abroad.
Umar-Sadiq said the Authority’s success would ultimately be measured not only by the infrastructure delivered, but by the patients treated, expertise retained, investment attracted and healthcare capacity created within Nigeria.
The Authority has extended its healthcare investments beyond Lagos through the MedServe Kano Diagnostic Centre and MedServe Umuahia Diagnostic Centre.
Umar-Sadiq disclosed that more than 410,000 patients had accessed pathology and radiology services through the two centres as of December 2025.
He said the expansion had improved access to advanced diagnostic services, facilitated earlier disease detection and supported better clinical decision-making in locations where such services had previously been limited.
The NSIA, however, is preparing for a much broader expansion of its healthcare network.
Umar-Sadiq said MedServe was developing a network across 13 states comprising 13 new diagnostic centres, three additional oncology centres and three cardiac catheterisation laboratories.
The planned expansion will cover major urban centres, including Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory and Kaduna, as well as Oyo, Sokoto, Delta and Yobe states.
The cardiac catheterisation laboratories will also introduce cardiology as a new service line within the MedServe platform.