By DEJI NEHAN
Introduction: When the Plane Takes Off, the System Fails
A familiar story plays out almost every month in parts of Nigeria and across Africa. A prominent politician, a pastor’s wife, or a wealthy business owner is rushed onto a private jet, en route to India, the UK, or Dubai. The diagnosis: a treatable heart condition, kidney failure, cancer surgery, or a complex orthopedic issue. What’s missing at home? The facilities. The specialists. The trust.
Medical tourism is now so normalized that Nigerians spent over $1.6 billion on outbound health travel in 2022, according to the Nigerian Medical Association. Much of that is for routine or mid-level surgeries that should be available locally. And for every successful airlift, there are countless others who die in silence because they simply can’t afford it.
But what if the story could change? What if the Nigerian and broader African diaspora — doctors, entrepreneurs, investors, and everyday remittance senders — began directing their wealth, skills, and influence toward building local surgical hubs?
This is not charity. It’s strategic. It’s survival. It’s nation-building.
The Medical Tourism Drain: What We’re Losing
Let’s be clear — medical tourism is not just about money leaving the country. It represents a vote of no confidence in our systems. And it comes at great social, emotional, and even diplomatic cost.
Each year, Nigeria alone loses hundreds of millions of dollars to countries like India, Turkey, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. These are funds that could have been circulated within local economies — paying for hospital equipment, training more surgeons, funding health startups, or maintaining biomedical infrastructure.
Behind the glamour of outbound treatment lies a darker truth — 95% of Nigerians can’t afford to leave the country for healthcare. They face long waiting lines, misdiagnoses, expired equipment, or sometimes — simply no help at all. The brain drain of qualified surgeons and specialists to the West compounds this. When healthcare systems fail, it’s not just about statistics — it’s about funerals that didn’t have to happen.
Why the Diaspora Must Intervene Now
The African diaspora — particularly Nigerians abroad — have shown incredible power in transforming lives through remittances. In 2023, diaspora remittances to Nigeria alone hit $20.1 billion, according to the World Bank. But what if just 1% of that was pooled annually to create sustainable, specialized surgical centers across underserved regions?
Here’s why the diaspora must lead this charge:
You Understand the Gap
Diaspora medical professionals, especially those trained abroad, know the difference between an equipped surgical suite and a glorified consultation room. Many of you left home because the tools to operate or innovate didn’t exist. You are best positioned to identify where the gaps are — and how to fix them.
You Can Mobilize Capital Faster than Governments
Let’s be honest — waiting for federal health ministries to fix this problem is a losing game. Diaspora-led consortiums, health cooperatives, or even mission-focused investment vehicles can raise funds, cut red tape, and deploy infrastructure more effectively.
You’re Already Doing It, Quietly
Many diaspora doctors are already sponsoring medical outreaches, sending equipment, or flying in for free surgeries during the holidays. These efforts, though noble, are often fragmented and unsustainable. It’s time to scale them up, formalize them, and make them permanent.
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Local Surgical Hubs: What They Could Look Like
The concept of a surgical hub isn’t complicated. It’s a focused, specialized center designed to handle high-demand surgical cases with quality, speed, and safety. Think of a cardiac hub in Enugu, an orthopedic center in Jos, or a kidney transplant hub in Ibadan — backed by diaspora talent, training, and funding.
These hubs can operate under a public-private-partnership (PPP) model, or even as fully private ventures with subsidized access for underserved patients. Diaspora medical networks in the UK, US, and Canada can partner with local teaching hospitals to create twinning programmes — sending equipment, protocols, and personnel on a rotational basis.
Critically, these hubs can also become centers of medical education and innovation, training the next generation of surgeons, nurses, and technicians who won’t need to leave the country to gain world-class experience.
The India Example: From Receivers to Providers
India, once heavily reliant on outbound medical travel, is now a global destination for advanced surgeries. How did they do it?
– Strategic investment in medical training institutions
– Government incentives for private hospital groups
– Diaspora doctors returning home to build their own hospitals
– Heavy focus on cost efficiency and specialized care
Nigeria and other African countries don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We need to localize the model. And the diaspora holds the blueprint.
The next time someone asks, “Where’s the best place in West Africa for heart surgery?” — wouldn’t it be powerful if the answer was right here at home, funded and led by the diaspora?
Real-World Models Already Emerging
The good news is that some models are already taking root:
– DUCHESS International Hospital in Lagos, backed by local and diaspora investors, is offering top-tier surgical services and gradually building trust in private care.
– R.E.A.C.H. (Returnees Establishing Accessible Care in Health) is a budding diaspora initiative exploring how to fund maternal and surgical health hubs across West Africa.
– Diaspora Angels Network (DAN) has shown interest in investing in healthcare-focused startups and facilities — not just tech — in East and West Africa.
What’s missing? Scale. Coordination. Storytelling. If more diaspora actors knew about these efforts — and saw a clear entry point — the movement could accelerate.
What Can You Do From Abroad?
You don’t need to be a surgeon to join the mission. Diaspora professionals can plug in in various ways:
– Form or join diaspora health investment groups
– Support a surgical hub fund in your local state or community
– Mentor young Nigerian doctors or surgical techs via online platforms
– Sponsor medical research and surgical simulation training labs
– Build or co-invest in a diagnostic center with clear patient safety goals
Think of it this way: if 1,000 diaspora professionals pooled just $1,000 each annually, that’s a million-dollar fund. Enough to upgrade an entire surgical department or equip a rural facility.
Conclusion: Let’s End the Next Airlift Before It Begins
Every airlift to India or Dubai is a story of something we failed to build at home. But with diaspora muscle, networks, and vision, we can flip the script. We can go from exporting patients to training global surgeons right at home. From relying on charity to designing resilient, self-sustaining hubs of medical excellence.
The challenge is urgent. But the opportunity is massive.
The next time someone asks, “Where’s the best place in West Africa for heart surgery?” — wouldn’t it be powerful if the answer was right here at home, funded and led by the diaspora?
Let’s not wait for the next airlift. Let’s build the runway for something better.
