Sky Medical Nigeria Limited, a Nigerian firm, has signed a contract with a Chinese company, Poxing Holdings Co. Limited, to supply medical equipment worth $21 million.
The equipment, which will later be supplied to both private and public healthcare centres, aims to reduce the cost of healthcare services in the country.
Some of the major equipment, including Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT), is necessary for medical check-ups.
While an MRI machine is a noninvasive medical imaging test that produces detailed images of almost every internal structure in the human body, including the organs, bones, muscles and blood vessels, a CT scan is a diagnostic imaging procedure that uses a combination of X-rays and computer technology to produce images of the inside of the body.
Speaking with journalists after the deal was sealed in Abuja on Thursday, a deputy director of Sky Medical Limited, Hamza Nma Ndawuya, said that when available in the country, those critical medical equipment will discourage medical tourism to foreign nations.
Ndawuya said the equipment will reduce the challenges Nigerians face regarding healthcare services due to lack of equipment, noting that the entire country has just about five or six MRA machines.
“We are here to sign an agreement with a Chinese company, MoU. We want to supply equipment to the Nigerian government and private hospitals. We already have hospital customers, those who are patronising the equipment. So, the Chinese company bringing the equipment to our company is here with us today.
“We are expecting the MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), CT (Computed Tomography), and every piece of equipment the hospitals need, and we are expecting from them. We have requested and given them a request book, and they have worked on it. By the next two months, the equipment will be in Nigeria.
“So, now we are coming with five more. The MRI checks the human system and is essential for Cancer and other ailments. CT, we are bringing not less than five to this country and other equipment is available for them to bring to this country,” he said.
Ndawuya noted that his firm, apart from installing the equipment for any hospital that needs it, also gives them expatriates who will work for one or two weeks every two months, in addition to sending Sky Medical Limited workers to check how the equipment is doing.
“We have four or five private companies that need this equipment and promised them they will not pay in cash. If they decide to pay in cash, there is no problem, but we will give them a fixed price. They may pay this fixed price for three, four or five years, and we will maintain it for them, and we will also give them the expatriate that will work in their hospital, help them check the equipment and patients,” he explained.
On his part, the representative of the Chinese firm, Wang Yang, said the contract was a positive move towards making healthcare accessible to Nigerians at affordable rates.
“I’m glad to be here and complete the transaction. We will continue to try our best to support the professional and technical medical services in Nigeria through partnership with this company,” Yang said.
