Why Enugu International Hospital Was Built, Gov Mbah

Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State says his government built the 300-bed Enugu International Hospital to stop Nigerians from going abroad for medical care.

Mr Mbah spoke to reporters on Wednesday after a tour of the hospital before its launch. He said the aim was to keep the money Nigerians spend on healthcare abroad in the country.

"This is not a facility that is knee-jerk or that was accidentally put here. If you recall, during our campaign for this office, we made it clear that we were committed to making Enugu a medical tourism hub on the continent.

"We knew the size of that market. We also knew that we wanted to have a good chunk of that market. So, what you’re seeing here today is a plan that had even been conceived before we started our campaign," he said.

The governor emphasized that this hospital is part of his government's plan to make Enugu a medical tourism destination.

"And we knew also that was never going to be wished into existence; we needed to do concrete things. We needed to build a world-class facility and, most importantly, attract top-notch professionals who would come here and provide the service," he added.

In 2025, Nigerians spent $684.72 million on medical travel abroad, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria. This amount is about N934.64 billion at the current official exchange rate. It shows a 6.5 per cent increase from the $643.15 million spent in 2024.

Mr Mbah said the hospital would help his government’s plan to grow the economy from $4 billion to $30 billion in eight years.

He mentioned that the hospital's services, along with telemedicine and digital practices, would allow Nigerians to get expert medical opinions from abroad without travelling.

"We can actually attract or even receive those opinions abroad, and yet the money and the manpower would still remain here," he said.

The governor also said treatment costs at the hospital would be much lower than what Nigerians pay for quality healthcare in countries like India, Turkey, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

He added that the hospital would create many jobs for Nigerians. Many medical professionals who trained in Nigeria but now work abroad have shown interest in returning to work at the facility.

"We have received an outpouring of interest from people who were trained here at some point and later went overseas to practise.

"They are now happy to come back home and give back the gift that was nurtured here. They want to bring it back here. So, we were excited about that in terms of job creation," he said.

"So, we have been very intentional about making sure that our people have access to quality healthcare. We’re quite big on security and healthcare because we know that’s what investors would ask you."

The Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Sam Agwu, said the Enugu International Hospital will provide advanced medical care and attract specialists in cancer treatment, surgery, nuclear medicine, therapeutics, diagnostics, and other special areas.

Mr Agwu, who is a professor, said at least six core specialty centres will be operational when the facility opens.

He listed some of the centres, including a Cancer Centre for nuclear medicine, therapeutics, and diagnostics; a Heart and Vascular Centre for open-heart surgeries, cath-lab procedures, and cardiac rehabilitation.

Other centres will focus on Neurosciences for brain, spine, and stroke care; and a Renal and Transplant Centre for dialysis and organ transplants.