The American Hospital Dubai (AHD) has said it has perfected arrangements to open offices in Nigeria and nine other African countries with a view to checking uncontrolled medical tourism in the continent.
The AHD offices to be established in Nigeria will include a representational office, diagnostic centre and a hospital; the areas for establishment of these offices include Lagos, Abuja and possibly Port Harcourt, in the Rivers State.
Speaking with journalists in Port Harcourt on Monday, an investor of repute, Prince Tonye Princewill said the eight African countries included Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Angola.
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Princewill said that the first office of the hospital in Africa will commence on August 12, 2024, in Lagos, with the next in Abuja.
“I am their partner in sub-Saharan Africa, and it is my responsibility to take them to Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Angola, you name them. It is my responsibility. So, I am operating with them across Sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.
Additionally, he stated that he is in the process of convincing the hospital to open an office in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, but he has encountered some difficulties because of the crisis in the state and the general negative attitude towards the region.
Nevertheless, he supposes it has to be an obvious option for the hospital’s further growth and development.
He also disclosed that he has embarked on a campaign to rebrand Port Harcourt and present it as a place suitable for investment.