The German consul general in Nigeria, Weert Börner, says Nigeria can provide a good healthcare system rather than encouraging the promotion of medical tourism.

Mr Börner said this during the Africa Social Impact Summit (ASIS) on Thursday in Lagos while highlighting Germany’s role in enhancing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria.

“We have been increasing our support to modernise Nigeria’s health sector. I can assure you the German government is not a government promoting medical tourism to Europe. We think that’s not a solution.

“The solution is to improve the healthcare system in Nigeria. And there is no tourism needed in the future to get good treatment because we think that Nigeria is capable to have its own good health care system,” he said.

To support the health sector, Börner said that the German government has been training medical personnel, offering scholarships to medical students and has the active presence of German companies in Nigeria’s health sector. 

The envoy also said that Germany offers annual scholarships for both master’s degrees and PhD students globally through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

“And in 2023, for the first time ever, among sub-Saharan African nations, Nigeria ranked number one. The number of Nigerian scholarship receivers went up within 13 years from just 200 to 1,600. So that’s a big success for your country, but I think also for the world,” he said. 

Mr Börner emphasised that vocational training was a traditional strength of the German system, noting that it was cooperating with the government and the private sector, citing training for solar energy engineers in Nigeria.

The German consul general stressed the need for best practices and strengthened cooperation to actualise SDGs in Nigeria, Africa and globally.

The Africa Social Impact Summit is a multi-sectoral platform dedicated to accelerating action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria and across Africa.

(NAN)