The imposing building sitting at the edge of 6.5 hectares of land on the outskirts of the Nigerian capital, Abuja, is the site of a new experiment in reverse medical tourism. Built at a cost of more than 300m, the African Medical Centre of Excellence AMCE, which started operations on 5 June 2025, is a specialist hospital for non-communicable diseases such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases and blood disorders - including sickle cell anaemia, which is most common in African populations - and other conditions. It is the largest specialised private hospital in Nigeria.
Each year thousands of wealthy Africans flock abroad, mainly to Europe and America, to seek medical treatments not found at home. The African Export-Import Bank Afreximbank estimates that they spend 6bn to 10bn annually on such trips. Nigerians alone are estimated to spend at least 2bn annually on foreign hospital visits.
The AMCE project developed by Afreximbank in partnership with King's College Hospital, London, is designed to reverse the prevalence of medical tourism and make locally available the medical services for which many flock abroad at great expense. First, by making available, locally, the top-notch medical services for which many flock abroad at great expense.
"We've recruited from all over the world the very best we can find," said Brian Beaver, the chief executive officer of AMCE. "And as it turns out, the very best frequently were Nigerian doctors and nurses. No matter where we go, the best health institutions in the world, the top echelons, are filled with Nigerian doctors and nurses."
As Nigeria's health facilities deteriorated in the face of poor governance and inadequate funding from the mid-1980s, many of its best medical professionals began to emigrate abroad in search of better opportunities and professional fulfilment. The World Health Organization estimates that 2,000 doctors leave Nigeria every year for places like the US, the UK and Canada.