The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) says its healthcare investments have helped Nigeria save about $200 million in foreign exchange previously spent on overseas medical treatment.
The NSIA said the intervention was designed to reduce dependence on foreign healthcare services through the development of specialised medical facilities within Nigeria.
Managing Director of the Authority, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, disclosed the figure while highlighting the impact of NSIA’s healthcare investments.
According to him, the results of the NSIA medical tourism intervention have been significant, particularly through the MedServe-LUTH Cancer Centre (MLCC) in Lagos.
Since its establishment, the centre has delivered more than 25,000 radiotherapy sessions and 10,000 chemotherapy treatments to about 15,000 individual patients.
Umar-Sadiq said the facility had also contributed to cases of what he described as “reversed medical tourism”, with some Nigerians previously receiving treatment abroad being referred back to the country because of the quality and affordability of services available locally.
He explained that treatment costs at the centre remained substantially lower than comparable services overseas, in some cases costing less than half the international equivalent.
The NSIA boss said the savings from such interventions had helped prevent more than $200 million in foreign exchange outflows that would otherwise have been spent on overseas treatment and related expenses.
The MedServe-LUTH Cancer Centre, commissioned in Lagos in 2019, was described by Umar-Sadiq as the first oncology centre in Nigeria to provide 3D Conformal Radiotherapy.
He added that the facility currently has the largest concentration of radiotherapy equipment in West Africa.
The importance of local specialised healthcare, he noted, became particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, when international travel restrictions disrupted Nigerians’ access to medical treatment abroad.
Beyond oncology, NSIA has expanded its healthcare investments through diagnostic facilities in different parts of the country.
Umar-Sadiq disclosed that MedServe diagnostic centres in Kano and Umuahia had provided pathology, radiology and other diagnostic services to more than 410,000 patients as of December 2025.
He said the Authority was now working to expand its healthcare presence across 13 states.
The expansion plans include 13 additional diagnostic centres, three more oncology centres and three cardiac catheterisation laboratories.
According to him, the investments are intended to improve access to specialised healthcare while reducing the financial burden associated with Nigerians travelling abroad for treatment.
The development represents a broader effort by the NSIA to strengthen domestic healthcare capacity and retain more healthcare-related spending within Nigeria.
