The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has entered into an agreement with the United Kingdom-based Kings College Hospital Management Limited (KCHM) to develop world class medical and health facilities across Africa, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions on 29 July.
Speaking at the commemorative signing of the MOU at the KCHM headquarters in London, Afreximbank President, Jean-Louis Ekra said that MOU documented the intentions of Afreximbank and KCH to collaborate towards the establishment of a medical centre of excellence in Africa, commencing with haemathological medicine.
Describing the event as an important milestone in Afreximbank’s work towards improving the healthcare situation in Africa under its Health and Medical Tourism Programme, Mr. Ekra said that Africa’s healthcare situation called for urgent action because of the paucity of facilities across the continent and the subsequent high death rates, sometimes from easily treatable conditions.
He noted that Africans spent an estimated $5 billion annually on medical tourism and said that such a trend could not be allowed to continue for a continent which wanted to take its rightful place in the global scheme of things.
“We must act to give our people the same quality of life that others give to theirs. In doing so, we must take advantage of the business opportunity this intervention presents,” said the President. “We cannot export sick people and the jobs that go with these people, and above all, there is a need to begin to build the building blocks of the healthcare industry that reflects our culture and preferences.”
In implementing the Health and Medical Tourism Development Programme, Afreximbank’s determination was to pave the way for interested investors to participate in improving Africa’s health sector, he said. “We are therefore very pleased that KCH identifies with this objective and hope that the MOU we are signing today will set the stage for concrete outcomes that will stand the test of times.”
“Today’s signing marks a crucial first step in bringing first class health services closer to people across Africa. The Bank is confident that this collaboration will lead to a significant reduction in the need for Africans to travel outside the continent in search of the highest quality healthcare and will greatly reduce the resources expended by Africans on foreign medical tourism,” he said.
President Ekra signed the MOU on behalf of Afreximbank while Prof. Ghulam Mufti, Non-Executive Director, Kings College Hospital, signed on behalf of KCHM.
Also on the Afreximbank team the signing ceremony were Dr. Benedict Oramah, Executive Vice-President, Business Development and Corporate Banking; Dr. George Elombi, Directors, Legal Services; Mr. Kofi Adomakoh, Director, Project and Export Development Finance; Obi Emekekwue, Senior Manager, External Communications; and Oluranti Doherty, Manager, in the Project and Export Development Finance Department.
The Afreximbank and Kings College Hospital delegations pose for a joint group photograph
The Afreximbank and Kings College Hospital delegations pose for a joint group photograph