Experts urge innovative measures against medical tourism

Medical experts have called for innovative measures towards checking the rate of Nigerians travelling abroad for medical treatment. A statement from Nisa Premier Hospital, Thursday, said the experts made the call during this year’s medical week organized by Nisa Medical Group, in collaboration with the Institute of Medical Sciences Africa (IMSA). Dr. Ibrahim Wada, chief […]

Medical experts have called for innovative measures towards checking the rate of Nigerians travelling abroad for medical treatment.

A statement from Nisa Premier Hospital, Thursday, said the experts made the call during this year’s medical week organized by Nisa Medical Group, in collaboration with the Institute of Medical Sciences Africa (IMSA).

Dr. Ibrahim Wada, chief executive officer of Nisa Medical Group, said one way to do so is to develop a system locally that allows those who are practicing abroad to come home and still practice seamlessly.

He said doing so would enable a larger number of people to access care rather than a few people going abroad for treatment.

He said while Nigeria has made some progress in medical care, he said systems abroad where people travel to for medical care, have really advanced.

He said, “And and so the flaws of our own system is what is driving the people abroad; lack of the correct quality of expertise, the total management space, and things like stable electricity which has been overcome in many other parts of the world. Electricity is working, there’s some security, there’s quality of medical care and patient information. So we also must develop the response channels to say prevention is better than cure, to change in lifestyle, early detection and management; and also when they come to have the facilities to do things like open heart surgeries and kidney transplantation , among others.”

He said the IMSA medical week was an opportunity to bring the best hands that Nigeria has outside the country, to come home and work in a very nice setting, to help the Nigerian patients who ordinarily would have wanted to go abroad.

“So we are trying to reverse the idea of people needing to go abroad, and bringing home the very best level of medical care by Nigerians; combining those who are abroad with those who are at home for the benefit of our patients,” he added.

Dr. Austin Osemeka, one of the speakers and a medical expert based in the United States of America, said medical tourism has gotten to the point where even those of them in the United States have begun to say that they have to do something about it.

He said, “It’s okay that you choose where you want to go have your healthcare. However, what if we can bring the healthcare to you? So in trying to reconstruct this paradigm where people are leaving to get healthcare outside Nigeria, some of us in the United States and in diaspora in general have now decided that We will start coming back to provide such health care.”

The 2025 IMSA Medical Week 2025, brought together top Nigerian doctors and surgeons in the United States to share global best practices, conduct specialized medical consultations, and engage in high-impact knowledge exchange with local practitioners.