The State House Clinic, Abuja is collaborating with India-based Apollo Hospital to bring relief to Nigerians suffering from cancer, kidney and heart related ailments.
Medical Director of State House Clinic, Dr. Munir Yakasai, made the disclosure in Abuja on Thursday, in an interview with State House Correspondents.
He said a team of specialized Doctors from the Delhi-based hospital is already in Abuja to offer free medical consultation on malignant cancer, end-stage heart failure and remedies as well as kidney transplant.
He said: “It is a friendly medical collaboration and this has been going on for long, for almost 6-7 years now. We noticed that a lot of patients from Nigeria have been going to India for treatment.
“Some of them are of course our patients and we noticed that among those hospitals in India, Apollo Hospital happened to be one of the best so far that we have been getting good response and feedback from and whenever we send our patient there, he/she comes back much better.”
Dr. Yakasai further said the need to understudy India’s response to national health emergencies and guarantee qualitative health care provision informed the collaboration with Apollo hospital.
Giving a history of how the collaboration started, he said: “Apollo hospital approached us some years ago, when they came and introduced their hospital to us, they delivered lectures and some of our staff were sent to India, where they spent up to six weeks receiving training free of charge.
“This is something that we truly appreciate and once in a while they come around and give us lectures and if we have any question that requires their attention, we introduce such patients and they see them here so it is a good collaboration.”
Leader of the Indian delegation, Dr. Varun Sukhija, said Apollo has the largest group of hospitals in India, with over 73, adding that their collaboration with State House Clinic is basically aimed at exchanging knowledge with Nigerian doctors.
“Our mission in Africa is always a knowledge exchange programme. We don’t want a situation whereby patients must travel to India for treatment. We are creating a path through which there will be knowledge exchange with Nigerian doctors too.
“So, we also have many Nigerian doctors through that path and we are giving them training in Apollo hospitals New Delhi. We have over 73 centers where they are being trained and when they are done, they will come and give their services to their Nigerian colleagues and can give treatment to patients locally here in Nigeria also,” he stated.
Dr Sukhija, who has visited Nigeria many times, said: “Nigeria is a great country. Whatever we are doing or we are trying to tell them, they always learn everything so many things have now started in Nigeria as well; like liver, kidney and bone marrow transplant, these are things that very soon they will start in Nigeria.
“You can see that many countries are coming to Nigeria now for local treatment. This is way beyond that change we are bringing,” he said.
Adding her voice, the representative of Apollo Information Centre in Abuja, Mrs Anita Yado, commended the Nigerian government for doing well in many facets, especially the health sector.
“You see, I tell you, the Nigerian government is doing quite well because they are doing wonderfully well. They are really working very hard. The health sector here is improving; so many hospitals have come up.
“I am in contact with many doctors as well and I am seeing that they are highly qualified doctors and this initiative from Apollo hospital can bring a lot of changes also,” she said.
