NSIA’s Healthcare Investment Saves Nigeria Over $200mn in Forex
…MedServe Plans Major Expansion
By Patience Ikpeme
The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) says its investment in local cancer and diagnostic care has saved Nigeria more than $200 million in foreign exchange that would otherwise have left the country for medical treatment abroad.
The savings come from the work of NSIA Advanced Medical Services Limited (MedServe), the Authority’s healthcare subsidiary, which was set up to bring advanced cancer care and diagnostic services closer to home for Nigerians who would ordinarily have had to travel overseas for treatment.
Since it opened in Lagos in May 2019, the MedServe–LUTH Cancer Centre (MLCC) has become the biggest hub of radiotherapy equipment in West Africa. It was also the first hospital in Nigeria to offer 3D Conformal Radiotherapy, a more precise form of cancer treatment. So far, the centre has carried out more than 25,000 radiotherapy sessions and 10,000 chemotherapy treatments for close to 15,000 patients.
What makes the numbers stand out is not just the volume of patients treated, but the cost. Treatment at MLCC costs less than half of what similar care would cost overseas. This has made the centre attractive not only to Nigerians who might otherwise have travelled abroad, but in some cases to Nigerians already receiving care overseas, who have chosen to return home for treatment instead.
The centre proved its worth most clearly during the COVID-19 pandemic. When international travel shut down and Nigerians could no longer fly abroad for treatment, MLCC kept advanced cancer care running inside the country, at a time when patients needed it most.
Beyond Lagos, MedServe has built diagnostic centres in Kano and Umuahia, offering radiology and pathology services in parts of the country where such advanced testing was previously hard to find. Together, these two centres had attended to more than 410,000 patients by December 2025, helping doctors detect illness earlier and make better treatment decisions.
MedServe’s Managing Director, under the leadership of NSIA’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, has approached healthcare as more than the construction of hospitals. NSIA describes its goal as building lasting healthcare capacity in Nigeria, training local medical experts, and creating institutions that can keep delivering results for many years, not just putting up buildings.
As part of this thinking, MedServe has formed partnerships with well-known international health institutions, including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the University of Maryland Medical Center, and Bio Ventures for Global Health. Nigeria is also now taking part in two global cancer research trials, focused on prostate and breast cancer, giving local doctors and patients access to the same research standards used in leading hospitals abroad. MedServe also runs an annual Oncology Summit that brings together doctors, researchers, and regulators to share knowledge and improve cancer care across the country.
NSIA is now preparing to expand this healthcare model to more parts of Nigeria. MedServe’s next phase covers 13 states, including Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory, Kaduna, Oyo, Sokoto, Delta, and Yobe. The plan includes building 13 new diagnostic centres, three more oncology centres, and three cardiac catheterisation laboratories, which will introduce heart treatment as a new area of care for MedServe. Construction of these new centres is expected to begin from the middle of 2026.
To support the equipment needed for this expansion, MedServe has partnered with global manufacturers Siemens and GE, covering supply, maintenance, and staff training, so that machines keep working reliably as the network grows.
The expansion is being funded partly through international financing. MedServe has secured up to $24.3 million in blended funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the International Development Association (IDA). This financing is designed to lower the cost of the project and shows that international investors have confidence in Nigeria’s healthcare sector.
For NSIA, the long-term goal goes beyond numbers and buildings. The Authority says it wants Nigeria’s healthcare story to change, from one built around Nigerians travelling abroad for treatment, to one built around strong, reliable, and affordable healthcare available at home.
As MedServe’s new centres come on stream from 2026, NSIA says the real measure of success will be seen in the patients treated, the local expertise built, and a healthcare system that can serve Nigerians for generations to come.
