Aliko Dangote, Chairman of Dangote Group, urged Nigerians to stop seeking medical treatment abroad and focus on producing medicines locally.
Speaking at the Gates Foundation’s Goalkeepers event in Lagos on Wednesday, Dangote emphasized the importance of enabling all Nigerians, including the wealthy, to access quality healthcare within the country.
He also highlighted the value of partnering with Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation to help realize this goal.
“What we need to do is to make sure we stop this health tourism and we should now get in to start producing our own drugs.
“We should now make sure that when we are sick, we don’t have to travel abroad, all of us, but we need to do a partnership with Bill (Gates),” he said.
Africa’s richest man recalled that the Dangote Foundation, in partnership with the Gates Foundation, has played a significant role in eradicating polio in Nigeria and improving nutrition.
He noted that in business, his company has achieved major milestones, including transforming Nigeria from the world’s second-largest importer of cement to the leading exporter in Africa.
Dangote also highlighted how farmers once faced difficulties accessing fertilizer, but today, he has established the second-largest fertilizer plant in the world from the ground up.
“So, Nigeria now, not only export, we actually export 37% of our fertilizer to the United States of America,” he said.
