Health experts and financial leaders have emphasised the crucial link between healthcare infrastructure and Africa’s economic transformation, calling for greater investment and innovation to secure the continent’s future.
The discussion took place during a high-level panel titled “Reclaiming Africa’s Destiny through Investment and Innovation in Healthcare”, held at the 2025 Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM).
This year’s summit, themed “Building the Future on Decades of Resilience”, explored strategies for sustainable development across sectors.
Mrs Oluranti Doherty, Managing Director of Export Development at Afreximbank, stressed that economic growth in Africa cannot be sustained without a healthy population.
“We recognise that for Africa to achieve sustainable economic transformation, it must begin with health. A healthy population is essential to productivity, innovation, and resilience,” she said.
She noted that Afreximbank had long recognised the intersection of trade, health security, and economic progress, launching its Health and Medical Tourism Programme in 2012—years before health security became a central theme in development discourse.
“In 2012, we launched our health and medical tourism programme, well before the global conversation around healthcare infrastructure gained traction. We’ve always believed in the economic value of health,” Doherty added.
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Tackling the Medical Brain Drain
Mrs Doherty referenced the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) project in Abuja as a flagship example of the bank’s health-led investment approach.
The AMCE focuses on addressing critical treatment gaps in oncology, haematology, and cardiovascular medicine.
“African countries lose around $7 billion annually to outbound medical tourism. Nigeria alone spends over $1.1 billion. The AMCE is our response to reverse this trend and stem the medical brain drain,” she explained.
AMCE: More Than Just a Hospital
Dr Brian Deaver, Chief Executive Officer of AMCE, described the facility as a comprehensive medical ecosystem, not just a hospital.
“We are building more than infrastructure—we are creating a centre of medical excellence with 170 state-of-the-art beds and specialists from across the globe,” he said.
The project is part of a $2 billion health and pharmaceutical development programme spearheaded by Afreximbank, aligning with the African Union’s target to achieve 40% local vaccine and pharmaceutical production by 2040.
Research, Innovation, and Continental Impact
Professor Gulam Mufti, a renowned haemato-oncology expert and key advisor to the AMCE, said the initiative will transform healthcare delivery on the continent.
“This isn’t just about buildings and beds. It’s about creating a leading global institution for research, treatment, and innovation. It will also address neglected but devastating conditions like sickle cell disease, which affects over 100 million people, most of whom are African,” Mufti stated.
He added that the facility’s research capacity would be vital in finding African-led solutions to Africa’s most pressing health burdens.
In Closing
The speakers unanimously agreed that investment in healthcare is not only a moral imperative but also an economic necessity.
The discussions concluded with renewed commitments to financing health innovation, bridging care gaps, and positioning Africa as a hub for world-class medical services.