The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has committed a $75 million endowment fund to establish a research centre at the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) in Abuja.

The AMCE is a 500-bed tertiary healthcare facility developed by Afreximbank in partnership with King’s College Hospital, London (KCH), to provide specialised medical care and advance research into diseases affecting Africans.

President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, Dr George Elombi, disclosed the investment in Abuja, saying it is expected to transform research and treatment for sickle cell disease, cancer and other conditions that disproportionately affect people of African descent.

According to Elombi, the bank has established the Africa Life Sciences Foundation to mobilise risk capital for research activities at the facility, positioning the AMCE not only as a world-class treatment centre but also as a leading hub for medical research and innovation in Africa.

He noted that the hospital is already making an impact, with patients who previously travelled abroad for specialised treatment now receiving advanced care in Nigeria.

Describing the AMCE as a quaternary referral hospital, Elombi said it is equipped with some of the world’s most advanced medical technologies and offers highly specialised cardiology services and other complex procedures that were previously unavailable in the country.

He said the availability of such services would significantly reduce outbound medical tourism while strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare system.

Elombi identified sickle cell disease as a key research priority because of its disproportionate burden on Africans, stressing the need for African-led research to develop more effective treatments and long-term solutions.

He explained that the research programme would enable scientists to understand why patients from different African populations respond differently to treatments for diseases such as sickle cell disease and cancer.

According to him, the findings could lead to new medical discoveries, patents and commercial opportunities, while improving patient outcomes across the continent. “If we don’t do that research, the data will be collected in Nigeria and analysed elsewhere. Others will develop the innovations and benefit from the intellectual property, while Africa loses both the knowledge and the economic value,” he said.

Elombi also highlighted the hospital’s investment in advanced cancer treatment technology, including the installation of a cyclotron, a specialised machine used to produce radioactive isotopes for cancer diagnosis and treatment.

He explained that because many medical isotopes have very short half-lives and cannot be transported over long distances, local production would significantly improve access to advanced cancer diagnosis and treatment in Nigeria and across West Africa.