The African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) opened its doors to the public in Abuja on 19 September 2026, a 170-bed specialist hospital developed by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with King’s College Hospital, London. The US$300 million tertiary facility offers diagnostics and treatment in oncology, cardiovascular care, haematology, and general medical and surgical services, with plans to expand capacity to 500 beds.
Nigerian Vice President Kashim Shettima represented President Bola Tinubu as guest of honour at the opening, according to reports of the event.
Aimed at reducing medical travel
The centre is positioned as part of a wider effort to reduce the amount Nigerians and other Africans spend travelling abroad for treatment unavailable at home, particularly in cancer and cardiac care. The opening comes as Nigeria pursues a broader health sector reform programme reported to be backed by more than $2.2 billion in commitments from government and development partners.
A model for the continent
Afreximbank has described the centre as a template it hopes to replicate elsewhere in Africa, pairing its financing capacity with clinical and training expertise from an established international hospital partner. Beyond patient care, the facility is intended to support medical training and research, aiming to build local specialist capacity rather than only treating patients who can afford to travel abroad for comparable procedures.
Why It Matters
Limited access to advanced specialist care, particularly for cancer and cardiovascular disease, has long pushed wealthier patients from across West Africa to seek treatment in Europe, Asia or elsewhere, while leaving many others without access at all. A large, internationally partnered facility built to reduce that gap could shift where and how some of the region’s most serious medical cases are treated, if it can sustain the staffing and running costs such specialist care demands over the years ahead.
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