The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Benjamin Kalu has proposed partnership with Montefiore Einstein Medical Centre, a United States-based medical institution and Nigeria to advance healthcare services .
By EricJames Ochigbo
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Benjamin Kalu has proposed partnership with Montefiore Einstein Medical Centre, a United States-based medical institution and Nigeria to advance healthcare services .
Kalu made the call on Friday while hosting the President of the centre, Dr Philip Ozauh and his team in Abuja.
Montefiore Einstein Medical Centre is a premier academic health institution, renowned for research, discoveries of life-saving cures and innovations in patient care, advancements in public health among others.
Kalu said that health is the only form of wealth that cannot be regained once lost, saying that hospitals and clinics are critical infrastructure in safeguarding lives .
“Regardless of the quality of our laws or the scale of our budgets, if preventable deaths continue, if maternal mortality remains high, and if citizens cannot recover from treatable illnesses, our development remains incomplete,” he said.
The deputy speaker said that the 10th house regards health as central to national security, human capital development and economic progress.
According to him, Nigeria has made notable strides in the eradication of wild polio and maternal and child health services.
He also said that government had expanded the tertiary health institutions now reaching more Nigerians than ever before.
Kalu said that under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the federal government is committed to bold reforms and citizen-focused policies .
He noted that the 2024 national budget allocated more than N1.33 trillion to the health sector, the largest in Nigeria’s history.
The lawmaker said that Nigeria’s annual medical tourism bill, which once exceeded 1.6 billion dollars, was now trending downward.
Kalu, however, said that lasting transformation required partnerships that harness global expertise and complement local initiatives.
According to him, collaboration with Montefiore can accelerate this by developing centres of excellence that meet global standards and retain patients locally.
“We propose a partnership to establish a specialised medical research and training centre in Nigeria, focused on cancer, kidney disease, diabetes, infectious diseases and medical technology innovation.
“This centre, modelled after leading global institutions, would require collaboration with the federal government and credible local investors.