Dr. Mbah said this on Tuesday in Enugu at a ceremony marking the formal transfer of the diagnostic centre tagged, “Official Transfer of the Enugu Diagnostic Center and Launch of EquiLease Systems Ltd” which was well attended by officials of the federal and the state governments including the governor, Deputy Governor, Mrs Cecilia Ezeilo, Mr. Farouk Mohammed Gumel, Chairman, Board of Directors, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Mr. Aminu Umar-Sadiq, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, among other eminent personalities from different walks of life.
While describing the event as laudable and remarkable in the history of the state, the Governor-elect who was represented by the Deputy Governor-elect, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai, said the centre would help to attend to the medical needs of not only the people of the state but the southeast zone and the country at large.
He noted that he was not surprised by the choice of Enugu for the landmark health facilities since there existed a plethora of medical institutions including the latest one established by the present administration.
Barr. Ossai who further gave credit to the Ugwuanyi’s administration for navigating the negotiation and partnership, observed that Enugu would serve as the second state to have an oncology centre after Lagos State.
He also used the opportunity to call for the establishment of a faculty of Medical Engineering at the University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS), Igbo-Eno, to enhance upskilling, broaden medical knowledge and research and provide technical support for the maintenance of equipment and other spectrum of support needs.
Speaking earlier, Governor Ugwuanyi stressed that the journey to achieving the strategic partnership between the federal government through the NSIA and his administration was one of deliberate, bold and courageous step taken by his government to stem the tide of healthcare deficit in the state.
He stressed that the project would address the issues of capital flight, medical tourism and preventable deaths arising from lack of diagnostic testing centres in part of the country.
The governor who gave an overview of his achievements in the health sector, stated that his administration had already constructed and equipped over nine Type-3 primary healthcare, infectious disease centre, Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Parklane, among other hospitals.
In his remark, Mr. Farouk Mohammed, who was represented by Dr. Ogechi Pascal, a Non-Executive Director of NSIA, explained that the significance of the partnership between the federal government and Enugu State would lead to the centre addressing dearth of health facilities, saying the operation and services of the facility would save lives, discourage capital flight in search of treatments abroad and save the country of hard currencies.
According to the Chairman of Board of Directors, the NSIA was determined, within two years of official takeover of the facility, to elevate the centre to world class medical centre offering full services for diagnosis and cancer treatments.
He commended the governor for his commitment in making sure that the project saw the light of the day, stressing that the NSIA remained resolute in bridging the gap in the health ecosystem by creating easy access to medical treatments as a matter of fundamental right for Nigerians.
On his part, Mr. Aminu Umar-Sadiq reiterated the resolve of the NSIA under his leadership to equip the Enugu Diagnostic and Oncology Centre to world standard, adding that their target was to ensure the centre serves both the Southeast and the nation as a whole.
Noting that they were in a hurry to kick-off the operation of the medical facility with the installation of all the needed equipment, the NSIA Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer said the centre would afford speedy, early and accurate diagnosis and treatment of patients.
