Increased access to maternal health critical to Nigeria’s modernisation

Healthcare infrastructure provider GE has signed a deal with Nigeria aimed at saving one million lives by improving access to maternal and early years care. With less than one percent of global health expenditure, Africa accounts for almost half the world’s deaths of children under five. New commitments include a women’s hospital in Abuja.

The Country-to-Company (C2C) agreement signed between GE and the Federal Government affirmed the two parties’ commitment to work together to improve access and the standard of care in Nigeria. GE is working with both public and private partners to develop healthcare projects.

Areas of focus include clinical and leadership training for healthcare professionals and active participation in the financing and equipping of public-private healthcare partnerships. The company will leverage its GE Capital Markets arm to explore international financing options to make sure that projects achieve their funding aims.

Over the past five years, the company has made significant progress towards its commitments to develop the healthcare landscape in Nigeria, including developing a 75-bed women’s hospital, the American Hospital, in Abuja. The company made an equity investment with Edifice Capital to support the first phase of the development, and will continue to support the hospital with diagnostic imaging equipment and training.

President Goodluck Jonathan has committed to saving one million lives in Nigeria by improving access to maternal and early years care in the country, and GE’s strategy and solutions are aligned with that commitment. The company is collaborating on four new diagnostic centres and two specialist hospitals, as well as working on solutions for rural care of mothers and infants.

This article was written in collaboration with Global Electric.