African Medical Center of Excellence Aims to Reverse Medical Tourism in Nigeria, says CEO Brian Deaver

Brian Deaver, the CEO of the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE), has stated that the center's primary objective goes beyond merely decreasing outbound medical tourism from Africa; it aims to completely turn the trend around.

In an interview with ARISE NEWS, he expressed, “Not only will we reduce the amount of outbound medical tourism, but we want to reverse it. We want to see people coming from Europe, the US, China, and India—to Abuja. We want to see them coming here because of the expertise and technology and research that we’ve done here.”

Located in Abuja, Nigeria, the AMCE is a collaborative effort between Afrexim Bank and London’s King’s College Hospital. It is the first of five planned advanced medical facilities across the continent, intended to address critical healthcare gaps—especially concerning non-communicable diseases like cancer and sickle cell anaemia. The center also aims to enhance access to advanced healthcare for millions of Africans, both geographically and financially.

The healthcare crisis in Africa is evident in both the lives lost and the resources depleted. Approximately 9 million cancer-related deaths occur globally each year, with the majority in low-income countries. Concurrently, Africa loses around $10 billion each year due to outbound medical tourism, as patients seek treatment outside the continent.

Deaver emphasized that the success of the AMCE will also be gauged by its effect on local communities: “As we look out five years from now, I want to be able to report that hundreds of families have been relieved because their family member who suffered from sickle cell, they’ve been cured. And then outside of that, it just stays with the people.”

In addition to saving lives, the AMCE aims to bolster Africa’s healthcare systems through investment in its workforce. “We want to develop our people. We want to develop healthcare leaders. We want to develop healthcare professionals, clinicians and otherwise. And so we want to see a net increase there as well,” Deaver added.

As the continent confronts increasing health demands with limited capacity, initiatives like the AMCE signify a courageous move toward self-sufficient medical solutions and enduring transformation.