Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, has inspected the Enugu International Hospital ahead of its official launch, reaffirming his administration’s ambition to position the state as a leading medical tourism destination in Africa and reduce the need for Nigerians to travel abroad for specialised healthcare.
Mbah undertook the pre-launch inspection on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, touring the hospital’s specialised departments, critical-care facilities, diagnostic centres, theatres and other medical infrastructure designed to provide advanced healthcare services under one roof.
The governor said the facility was the product of a deliberate long-term plan to transform Enugu into a medical tourism hub, stressing that the project was conceived even before his administration assumed office.
“This is not a facility that is knee-jerk or that was accidentally put here,” Mbah said. “If you recall, during our campaign for office, we made it clear and we were committed to making Enugu a medical tourism hub in the continent. We knew the size of that market. We knew also that we wanted to have a good chunk of that market.”
According to him, the vision was clearly articulated in the administration’s manifesto and required deliberate investment in world-class healthcare infrastructure as well as the recruitment of highly skilled medical professionals.
“We needed to build a world-class facility, and most importantly, attract top-notch professionals that come here and provide the service,” he said.
Mbah said the quality of the hospital should therefore be measured not only by its imposing structure and sophisticated equipment but also by the calibre of specialists who would provide care to patients.
“You may, of course, be in love with the building and the equipment, but you should also engage the professionals. You see that these are top-notch professionals,” he said.
Advanced healthcare under one roof
The inspection provided an opportunity for the governor to see firsthand the extensive range of medical services being assembled at the facility, including advanced cancer care, cardiac and vascular medicine, neurosurgery and neurosciences, radiology, renal care, neonatal and paediatric intensive care, ophthalmology, dental care, pulmonology, endoscopy and regenerative medicine.
The Chief Executive Officer of Enugu International Hospital, Prof. Sam Agwu, said the facility had been designed to provide patients with comprehensive care supported by advanced technology and highly specialised personnel.
Agwu said the hospital would operate an integrated electronic system through which patients and medical processes would be digitally monitored.
“Everything is electronic. We have everything electronically monitored from the cards, and everyone coming here will be tagged and can be geo-located,” he said.
The laboratory complex comprises dedicated units for sample collection, haematology, clinical chemistry and microbiology, while the molecular laboratory will be capable of conducting sophisticated DNA analysis and detecting infections at very early stages.
The histopathology unit will analyse tissues and assist in the detection and diagnosis of cancers, while the radiology department will provide advanced imaging services, including MRI, mammography and digital X-ray.
Agwu also highlighted specialised imaging technology capable of supporting the assessment of trauma, blockages and other conditions, as well as assisting in the monitoring and recovery of oncology patients.
Cardiac care, Cath Lab, ICU
One of the major features of the hospital is its cardiac and vascular care infrastructure, including a cardiac catheterisation laboratory (Cath Lab) designed to facilitate minimally invasive cardiovascular procedures.
According to Agwu, the Cath Lab will allow doctors to diagnose and treat certain heart conditions using catheter-based procedures, reducing the need for more invasive interventions in appropriate cases.
The equipment can also assist specialists in investigating serious vascular conditions, including brain aneurysms, while advanced cardiac monitoring systems will support the management of patients with critical heart conditions.
The emergency department has more than 10 beds, with the resuscitation area equipped with oxygen supply and cardiac monitoring systems at individual beds.
The adult Intensive Care Unit features mechanical ventilators, piped oxygen and other advanced patient-monitoring systems, while a dedicated paediatric ICU provides comparable critical-care facilities for seriously ill children.
The hospital also has a coronary care unit designed to provide specialised monitoring and treatment for patients with severe cardiac conditions.
Dialysis and surgical services
The renal-care section includes a dialysis unit with four dialysis stations already provided, with another four units expected to be added.
The facility also has a dedicated water-treatment system to support dialysis operations, an essential component in maintaining the required water quality for patients undergoing treatment.
In the surgical department, the theatre is equipped with a modular operating-room system sourced from New Zealand and designed with infection-control features aimed at reducing the risk of contamination during surgical procedures.
The theatre also has equipment for ventilation, bleeding control and other critical aspects of surgical care.
Cancer care and specialised medicine
Mbah said one of the most significant aspects of the project was its emphasis on advanced cancer diagnosis and treatment.
He explained that the hospital’s nuclear, molecular and cellular medicine capabilities were conceived to give Enugu the capacity to provide sophisticated oncology services that are currently limited in Nigeria.
“If you look at the locations where PET scan is done in this country, or even the SPECT scan, you find out that it’s probably, as the CEO said, perhaps one functional location in the country today,” Mbah said.
“So we felt that, look, if we want to compete globally, then we must also have the ability to provide advanced oncology services.”
He said the facility would not only diagnose cancer but also provide therapeutic services.
“We’re not just only able to give you an advanced diagnosis of cancer, but we’re also able to treat. So both diagnostically and therapeutically, the place to go or to come to is right here in Enugu,” he said.
Agwu said the hospital had earmarked six centres of excellence covering cancer, cardiac and vascular medicine, neurosciences, radiology, wellness and regenerative medicine.
“For cancer, we’re going to provide medical, surgical, and nuclear medicine therapeutics and diagnostics,” he said.
“We’re going to have cardiac and vascular centre of excellence to do with all heart problems and open-heart surgery as you may know it. So we’re going to have neurosciences.”
He added that the hospital would also have a radiology centre of excellence, alongside wellness and regenerative medicine services.
Mother and child care
The hospital’s maternal and child-health services include dedicated obstetrics and delivery rooms fitted with modern delivery beds and specialised equipment.
Its neonatal intensive care unit is designed for critically ill newborns and includes neonatal incubators, transport incubators, ventilators, resuscitation equipment and physiotherapy facilities for newborn babies.
The obstetrics and surgical sections also feature mobile incubators and equipment designed to reduce infection risks during procedures.
Agwu said the hospital would provide care across the entire spectrum, from emergency and critical care to specialised and preventive medicine.
Other services include endoscopy, with upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopic capabilities and sterilisation facilities; dental services with automated dental chairs and equipment for producing artificial teeth; and ophthalmology services equipped with non-contact tonometry and optical coherence tomography for advanced eye examinations.
The hospital also has a neurodiagnostic centre for assessing the nervous system, a pulmonology unit for respiratory conditions and a longevity clinic focused on preventive medicine, early detection of diseases and healthy ageing.
Digital medicine, global expertise
Mbah said the hospital’s digital infrastructure would make it possible for specialists outside Nigeria to participate in patient management through telemedicine.
“With what you have here and with our commitment to telemedicine and digital and electronic medical practice, we can actually attract or even receive those opinions abroad, and yet the money and the manpower would still remain here,” he said.
According to him, the system would allow specialists from different parts of the world to contribute their expertise in real time while patients remain in Enugu.
“We’re actually quite robust in our telemedicine with all the digital facilities we’re going to have here,” he said.
Mbah added that the state was already receiving interest from Nigerian medical professionals practising abroad who wanted to return and contribute to the healthcare system that trained and nurtured them.
“We have received an outpour of interest of those people who were trained here at some point and now went overseas to practise. And they are now happy to come back home and give back that gift that was nurtured here,” he said.
Targeting medical tourism and job creation
The governor said the facility was expected to generate significant employment opportunities while attracting patients from within Nigeria and other parts of Africa.
He noted that many Nigerians currently travel to India, Turkey, the United States and the United Kingdom to seek medical treatment that could eventually be provided at the Enugu International Hospital.
“All we’re going to be asking them to do is just pay a fraction of what they would have ordinarily spent in going to all these major hospitals,” Mbah said.
He linked the investment to his administration’s broader development agenda, saying quality healthcare was essential to economic growth, investment and improved living standards.
Mbah said the government’s interventions had deliberately covered the healthcare system from primary to secondary and tertiary levels, with the Enugu International Hospital taking the state’s ambition into highly specialised, or quaternary, healthcare.
“You know, so we have been very intentional to make sure that our people have access to quality health care,” he said.
The governor added that healthcare and security were critical considerations for investors because they needed assurance that both their businesses and personnel would have access to a safe and functional environment.
“We want to grow our economy exponentially. We want to eradicate poverty. We want our people to have access to high quality of life. And our life expectancy, you know, to increase,” he said.
“All those human development indicators, those items, you want to be sure that your people are having access to. We’re providing them step by step.”
Agwu said the hospital would draw expertise from both Nigeria and the diaspora as part of its strategy to establish a world-class medical ecosystem in Enugu.
He said the facility’s combination of advanced equipment, specialist centres, digital medicine and international expertise would enable it to provide services that could significantly change the healthcare landscape of the state and the wider region.
For Mbah, the ultimate objective is clear: to build an ecosystem capable of keeping patients in Nigeria, attracting patients from other countries, creating jobs, retaining medical expertise and turning Enugu into a recognised destination for advanced healthcare.
“We’re very excited that this is all standing now, and we cannot wait to welcome the world to Enugu,” the governor said.
