The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, has announced plans to draft a memo to President Bola Tinubu advocating for the establishment of a Bank of Health aimed at bolstering Nigeria’s healthcare sector.
Akume made this declaration on Wednesday during the 20th anniversary celebration of Everbright Diagnostic Laboratory Services and the launch of a book titled “Employee Retention and Turnover in Nigeria.”
He emphasized that the proposal, initially put forth by the chairman of Everbright Diagnostics, is a valuable suggestion that merits the Federal Government’s attention. “The chairman has called for the establishment of a bank. I think it is a very good suggestion. I assure you I am going to make a memo to that effect to Mr. President,” Akume stated.
The SGF further reiterated the Tinubu administration’s commitment to enhancing Nigeria’s health system through policies that foster local capacity, expand access to quality care, and support institutions vital to national development. He remarked, “This address will not be complete if I do not reaffirm that under President Tinubu’s administration, there is a deep commitment to building a healthier, safer, and more prosperous Nigeria. Through policies that encourage value creation, job expansion, institutional reform, and stronger health systems, the federal government will continue to support champion institutions like Everbright Diagnostics and strengthen our national capacity.”
Akume also highlighted the crucial role Everbright played during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing essential testing services that aided Nigeria’s response to the health crisis.
Earlier, Dr. Everest Okpara, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Everbright Diagnostics, proposed the creation of a Bank of Health to revolutionize Nigeria’s healthcare sector. Okpara argued that if the country could establish the Bank of Industry and the Bank of Agriculture, a dedicated financial institution for healthcare is both necessary and achievable.
“I would like to tell us here today that I have a bold idea, which can be adopted by the Central Bank of Nigeria. It is an idea that has the capacity to transform the healthcare landscape. If Nigeria can have the Bank of Industry, if Nigeria can have the Bank of Agriculture, then surely we can build a Bank of Health,” he asserted.
He explained that this institution would provide long-term, single-digit financing for credible healthcare providers, eliminating the barriers posed by commercial banks demanding extensive collateral. “A dedicated institution that can offer long-term, single-digit financing for credible healthcare providers, so that commercial banks will cease to request our great-grandfather’s certificate to assess a loan,” Okpara said.
He emphasized that establishing such an institution would tackle high-interest rates that impede healthcare investment, strengthen health infrastructure, reduce capital flight, and encourage medical professionals to remain and work in Nigeria.
“If this idea were to be implemented, such an institution would end the suffocating interest rates sabotaging healthcare investment, empower hospitals, diagnostic facilities, and innovators, build the quantitative health infrastructure that our people desperately need, reduce capital flight, encourage and motivate our doctors, nurses, scientists, radiographers, and specialists to stay home instead of seeking rehabilitation abroad, transform the current brain drain we experience in the health sector to brain gain, and above all, give Nigerians confidence to access healthcare within their own country,” he concluded.
Nigeria’s healthcare sector continues to grapple with significant challenges, including underfunded hospitals, high-interest loans for medical providers, inadequate health infrastructure, and a notable brain drain of healthcare professionals seeking better opportunities abroad. While institutions like the Bank of Industry and the Bank of Agriculture provide sector-specific financing, the health sector currently lacks a dedicated financial institution to facilitate long-term investment and growth.
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