FEC approves N12bn for teaching hospital upgrades in six states

The federal executive council (FEC) has approved N12 billion for the upgrade of critical health infrastructure across teaching hospitals in six states.

Speaking after the FEC meeting, presided over by President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, Ali Pate, the coordinating minister of health and social welfare, said the upgrades are aimed at expanding healthcare access.

Pate said the fund will be used to procure major diagnostic equipment, including three MRI machines and two CT scanners across key tertiary institutions.

The institutions include the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Akwa Ibom; Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun state; Federal Medical Center, Keffi, Nasarawa state; Modibbo Adamawa University Teaching Hospital, Yola; and Federal Teaching Hospital, Kebbi.

The minister said the funds would also support broader infrastructure upgrades to enhance both patient care and medical education in these institutions.

He added that the improved facilities have already started attracting patients from foreign countries.

“Gradually, piece by piece, we are building our health infrastructure in the front end, but also at the higher level in the teaching hospitals,” he said.

“And we know that important things are happening; people are now beginning to come to Nigeria and receive quality healthcare. This is already happening, including people from faraway places like the United Kingdom and the United States.

“So despite what we may want to believe about Nigeria’s healthcare system, there are good things happening; the transformation that the president promised is beginning to happen.

“We need to sustain it, and we are investing, and we will continue to invest in that direction.”

The FEC meeting also saw the ratification of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) treaty in order to integrate Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector into the African market.

The treaty, first adopted by the African Union (AU) in 2019, seeks to harmonise regulatory standards across the continent, ensuring access to safe and high-quality medicines.

Pate commended Tinubu’s leadership, describing the ratification as a “major milestone” in Nigeria’s path to medical self-sufficiency and industrialisation.

“With this treaty, what we produce as part of our value chain expansion will have access to a much wider market,” Pate said.

“This means what is made in Nigeria will, over time, be made in Africa.”