By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Private investors have been urged to consider putting their money in the health sector as the federal government strives to attain Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 and 9 adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2015.
This call was made by the Vice President of Nigeria, Mr Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), on Wednesday during the state-of-the-art Modular Healthcare Facility (MHF) launch by Alpha Mead Healthcare Management Services at Gbagada General Hospital, Gbagada, Lagos.
The MHF is a customised, mobility-enhanced, prefabricated portacabin with detachable modules equipped with state-of-the-art clinical and diagnostic equipment designed to take quality healthcare services to the doorstep of all Nigerians.
Represented by the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Mr Osinbajo said private investment in health would help Nigeria attain the two vital SDGs.
“I want to commend Alpha Mead Healthcare Management Service Limited for this initiative. I applaud the company for harnessing its scientific and technological expertise to make this solution available for use in the country. It will go a long way in supporting our journey towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” he said.
Professor Osinbajo added that Alpha Mead’s MHF has “appropriately captured SDG Goal 9, which aims at building resilient infrastructure, promote industrialisation, and foster innovations across sectors including health, innovation, infrastructure, and new skill in technology development.”
The MHF, he further noted, will help drive SDG 3 and one of its targets of achieving universal health coverage in low and medium-income countries.
The Vice President explained that universal health coverage “is designed to ensure that everyone has access to key promotive, preventive, curative, and habilitative health services of good quality at an affordable cost without the risk of financial hardship linked to paying for healthcare services.”
Professor Osinbajo urged other private sector players to emulate Alpha Mead because its MHF would complement the government’s efforts at transforming medical diagnostics and reduce the barriers to access to quality healthcare in Nigeria.
Also speaking, Group Chairman, Alpha Mead Group, Mr Mutiu Sunmonu, explained that the launch of the MHF confirms that the company’s brand promise of ‘we care’ is not just a platitude but a living commitment that expresses its essence as an organisation.
He added that access to quality healthcare is the greatest challenge in Nigeria’s health sector, but the Modular Healthcare Facility would help address this.
According to Mr Sunmonu, “a product that accelerates access, addresses manpower shortages, leverages technology and can be rolled out on a massive scale is what our healthcare sector needs, and we are happy to be leading this innovation.”
He added that for Alpha Mead, “the MHF is more than a healthcare facility. It is also an entrepreneurial package capable of serving both social and economic purposes by creating jobs and business opportunities for Small and Medium Scale Enterprise, professional healthcare workers, and support staff.”
The Group Managing Director, Alpha Mead Group, Engineer Femi Akintunde, who did a product presentation, disclosed that the MHF is equipped with a Radiology Information System, Picture Archiving Communication System (RISPACS), Enterprise Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Telehealth infrastructure for real-time reporting of investigation and remote consultation.
The Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, who delivered a goodwill message, ex-Lagos State Commissioner, Dr Jide Idris and several other players in the health and technology sectors attended the launch.
Adedapo Adesanya 
Aduragbemi Omiyale