KEY POINTS
- Nigeria partners with Turkey to boost healthcare access and quality.
- The partnership includes air ambulances and monthly specialist visits.
- It aims to reduce the cost and need for Nigerians to travel abroad for care.
Nigeria believes it can strengthen its health sector through collaboration with Turkey to tap into the $8.5 trillion global healthcare market.
New partners for this collaboration include Kasi Healthcare from Nigeria and Memorial Hospital Turkey. They intend to use the best of technology and medical knowledge to improve the health standards in Nigeria, especially in cardiology and transplantation.
Expanding specialized medical services
The partnership aims to make second opinions, specialized screenings to make quality medical evaluations and treatment more accessible to Nigerians. Many people in Nigeria today go abroad to seek specialized treatment, as this is costly and, without a doubt, puts a significant financial burden on the country.
This could assist in saving the billions of dollars that Nigerians spend on medical trips abroad by providing quality health care facilities within the country.
On a related note, Kasi Healthcare, through its Aeromedical Unit, is set to enhance the availability of emergency services.
This unit will provide air ambulances, medical escorts, and ground logistics from an airport hospital in Lagos. This clinic will bring in Turkish specialists once monthly to give second opinions and consultations to Nigerians unabated.
Reducing costs and improving care
According to a report by BusinessDay, Bashir Zainab Kiata, a top executive at Memorial Hospital, this partnership is more than just about bringing doctors to Nigeria. With a network of 11 hospitals in Turkey and a highly trained medical team, Memorial Hospital plans to offer bimonthly consultations, including free second opinions, aiming to improve diagnosis accuracy and save money for Nigerian patients.
They also intend to share expertise and offer training to local medical providers.
Kiata said that though the partnership is expected to encompass almost all the fields of healthcare, including reproductive health, treating patients with sickle cell disease is still proving difficult due to a dire absence of centers in the country equipped to undertake bone marrow transplants.
She emphasized that this partnership could ease the financial burden on Nigerian families who can’t afford treatment abroad.
