King’s College Hospital, London (KCH) affirmed as Clinical Partner
Cairo, 03 June 2021: – African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced the commencement of its African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) project in Abuja, Nigeria. It will provide world-class care to both low and high-income patient groups across the continent. The Bank recently formalised its long-term collaboration with King’s College Hospital, London (KCH) on the project when it signed an agreement appointing KCH the Clinical Partner of the AMCE.
Construction of the Abuja AMCE is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2021 and commissioning is scheduled for the first quarter of 2024. The African Medical Centre of Excellence will be implemented in four phases over a six-year period, starting off with a 170-bed specialist hospital before expanding to a 500-bed facility.
Nigeria was selected in 2017 as the host country for the first AMCE following a competitive bidding process in which Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania also participated. The four countries had previously been identified as prospective host countries by a pre-feasibility study commissioned by Afreximbank and conducted by KCH in 2015.
The AMCE plans to offer a full range of medical services, such as diagnostics, treatment, nuclear medicine, surgery and post-surgical care, along with complimentary specialist services covering oncology, haematological diseases (including sickle cell and blood cancers) and cardiovascular ailments. It will also offer education and clinical research services with a view to building leading talent and becoming a top tier quartenary-level medical facility.
The Abuja AMCE will not only enhance access to healthcare services for 50,000 people every year but also provide 3,000 jobs during its construction and operational phases. Thus, in setting up the AMCE, Afreximbank aims to assist in the provision of quality healthcare, enhanced service offerings, training, expanded employment, conservation of foreign exchange in Africa and promotion of intra-African medical tourism.
“The African Medical Centre of Excellence is a landmark project for Africa. Designed as an initiative under Afreximbank’s 5th Strategic Plan, we are now pleased to be concretising our aspirations. With successful delivery of the Abuja AMCE, the Bank will be well prepared to implement its continent-wide plan of developing a network of AMCEs across Africa and contribute its quota in improving the quality of lives of the African people. The Abuja AMCE will tackle the rising burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, with general care capabilities that will serve the entire West Africa region and beyond. It is a demonstration project that will trigger similar medical centres across the continent” said Professor Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank.
“We are grateful for the significant support from the Government of Nigeria and are pleased to have King’s College Hospital as our partners. We look forward to benefitting from their world-class expertise in medicine, medical, research and training,” added Professor Oramah.
The onboarding of King’s College Hospital is an important milestone. KCH boasts almost two centuries of experience in healthcare service delivery and health systems strengthening. They will support the development of the Abuja AMCE in terms of clinical expertise and protocols, governance and administration support, facility and service set-up as well as recruitment, education and training.
Sir Hugh Taylor, Chair of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “At King’s we have a long history of providing specialist healthcare locally, nationally and internationally. We are proud to be extending our clinical expertise in services, such as haematology and cardiology to benefit the people of Nigeria, and Africa more generally.”
King’s College Hospital has partnered with The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, the largest single site cancer centre in Europe, to provide oversight of oncology services at AMCE.
King’s College Hospital joins an already impressive list of Key Project Partners, including Bovell Ross Project Management (Project Management Company), PwC Nigeria (Management Consultant) and Dar Al-Handasah / Perkins+Will consortium (Design Consultant).
The implementation of the project is also supported by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to ensure that the AMCE’s services meet the African Union’s (AU) aspirations for healthcare delivery under its “Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want”.
About Afreximbank
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. Afreximbank deploys innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. The Bank has a rich history of intervening in support of African countries in times of crisis. Through the Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility (PATIMFA) launched in April 2020, Afreximbank has disbursed more than US$6.5 billion in 2020 to help member countries manage the adverse impact of financial, economic, and health shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has completed the development of a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Afreximbank is working with the AU and the AfCFTA Secretariat to develop an Adjustment Facility to support countries in effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of 2020, the Bank’s total assets and guarantees stood at US$21.5 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$3.4 billion. Afreximbank disbursed more than US$42 billion between 2016 and 2020. The Bank has ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A-), Moody’s (Baa1) and Fitch (BBB-). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com
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About King’s College Hospital
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, known affectionately as “King’s” by staff and patients, is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching hospitals, training over 900 dentists, 750 doctors and 300 nurses every year. Established in 1840, King’s has been at the forefront of medical innovation for more than 180 years The Trust is recognised internationally for its work in liver disease and transplantation, neurosciences, cardiac, haemato-oncology, stroke and major trauma. On 1 October 2013, King’s took over the running of the Princess Royal University Hospital in Bromley and Orpington Hospital, as well as some services at Beckenham Beacon and Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup. The new enlarged organisation has over 13,000 staff and provides over 1 million patient contacts a year. 9,000 babies are delivered by our hospitals each year, and over 750 patients come to our Emergency Departments every day.
For more information, please visit the website www.kch.nhs.uk
Media Contacts
Afreximbank: Amadou Labba Sall; asall@afreximbank.com
KCH: Karen Welsh; karen.welsh2@nhs.net