Calabar, Nigeria, 8^th August 2025: At the just-concluded Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Annual General Meeting in Calabar, Dr. Aisha Umar, Chief Medical Officer of the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE), delivered a compelling keynote address that challenged stakeholders across Africa to rethink the future of healthcare delivery through the lens of policy, practice, and partnership.

In a speech titled “Strengthening Health Systems: From Ambition to Action,” Dr. Umar emphasized the urgent need to bridge the continent’s staggering health disparities with more resilient and inclusive health systems.

Dr. Umar highlighted the African Medical Centre of Excellence in Abuja as a blueprint for transforming healthcare through strategic policy. The centre, backed by Afreximbank and other strategic partnership including the Nigerian Government aimed at reversing outbound medical tourism, building local capacity, and delivering advanced care in oncology, cardiology, and general medicine.

‘Africa bears 25% of the global disease burden but accounts for less than 3% of the world’s health workers. These aren’t just statistics, they’re the daily realities of mothers, children, and entire communities being left behind”, she noted.

Dr. Umar called for multisectoral collaboration. ‘Let today be a turning. A moment when we commit to building a health system that works for all Nigerians, where our doctors and nurses thrive at home, and world class care becomes the rule, not the exception”, she urged.

Since opening in June 2025, AMCE has quickly positioned itself as a regional training and innovation hub, integrating early detection, advanced treatment, and long-term disease management, with a current capacity of 170 beds and plans to expand to 500 in the next phase.