FG committed to ending medical tourism – Minister

The Minister of State for Health, Dr Ehanire Osagie, says the Federal Government is committed to improved standard of health facilities in the country to discourage patients from medical tourism.
Osagie said this while inaugurating projects initiated and executed by the Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, Nasarawa State.
He said that President Muhammadu Buhari has given the needed attention to the health sector in order to improve the healthcare services to Nigerians.
According to him, people that go to India, Egypt, Europe and America, among other countries, for medical treatment may feel that they are not safe here, that is why the federal government is doing its best to increase the confidence of Nigerians in all of our hospitals.
He said: “The federal government of President Muhammad Buhari is doing its best and want to upgrade health facilities across the country but funds are not enough.”
He congratulated Dr Joshua Giyan, the Medical Director of the centre, for keying into projects that have direct bearing on the lives of the staff and patients at large.
Giyan said: “I also want to congratulate the chairman and members of the governing council of this centre on their appointments.
“I want to advise them that they have a very easy job because the hospital has a very good reputation.
“I am also advising the governing board members to go beyond board room.
“As members of the governing council, you are the custodians and supervisors of the hospital, go everywhere, check the housekeeping and its environment for effective healthcare service delivery.”
The minister assured of federal government continued support to the centre to improve on the health status of the people of the state and Nigeria at large.
The Chairman, Governing Board of the centre, Sule-Iko Sadiq, pledged members’ commitment to uplift the facility toward improved service delivery.
Earlier, the medical director had said that he was determined to improve the standard of the centre to an enviable status.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the projects inaugurated included an administrative complex, Isolation Unit and Electronic Personnel Record.