According to an article in CleanLeap, West Africa’s largest healthcare project has been launched in Accra, Ghana. The Eco Medical Village is apparently set to become a 1,100-bed sub-regional project, providing specialised medical centres across 40 acres. It is hoped it will promote global health tourism across the region and become the next medical tourism destination, particularly following the closure of the Ibom Specialist Hospital, over 1,000km away in Uyo, Nigeria.
The US$476m project will include a referral center for diseases, research facilities, sports medicine centre, disaster management centre, women and children hospital and a centre for elderly care. It is expected to take 26 months to build and when completed, will employ more than 5,000 medical and specialised healthcare professionals. The Eco Medical Village will also include 4-star hotels, pharmacies and provide an air ambulance service.
The article states that it is hoped that the Eco Medical Village will promote global health tourism across the region and become the next medical tourism destination, particularly following the closure of the Ibom Specialist Hospital over 1,000km away in Uyo, Nigeria. Up until now, those who can afford to, travel to places such as India, the US, and the UK for medical treatment. The article states that Nigerians alone spend around US$2.5b a year for medical services abroad. No source for this statistic was given.
The article says that the new Eco Medical Center is hoped to generate around US$899 million for Ghana. The project emphasises Ghana’s desire to become the healthcare leader across the ECOWAS (The Economic Community of West African States) sector and it is hoped that with initiatives like the Eco Medical Village, alongside advancements in existing digital healthcare technology, Ghana will be placed firmly on the global healthcare map.
For independent analysis of the medical travel sector to Ghana, visit the IMTJ Country Profile.
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