ricans to ask themselves why the continent cannot become the beneficiary of medical tourism as well . This is as much a health issue as it is an economic one . Medical tourism subscribes to the logic that seeks to position Africa in higher value chains of the world economy . However , for the continent to become a destination for medical tourism , Africa ’ s strategy must aim at solving the iron triangle equation of every healthcare system : cost , access , and quality . The goal is to cover Africans first . Then , and only then , would Africa begin to attract foreigners .
Any major accomplishment in a sector as big as healthcare and on a national / continental level cannot be achieved by luck ; solving the healthcare conundrum and making Africa a destination for medical tourism must be a thoughtful , intentional and purposeful leadership strategy that is keen on investing and facilitating investments in three main axes : local medical education ; local manufacturing of open-patented drugs , vaccines and health equipment ; and collaboration among African ( healthcare ) stakeholders .
There has never been any aspiration to medical tourism without an effective local healthcare workforce . Providing medical education , even up to the level of medical specialities , should be the preoccupation of every African country , and this is for the benefit of our people . This requires a substantial public investment as it is a long-term and costly endeavour . Training healthcare professionals on subsidized public loans to be repaid by working for the government has been a traditional realistic healthcare ( self- ) financing solution that gives access to healthcare-related education to people who would otherwise not have access at all . At the same time , this strategy reduces costly processes such as Africans travelling abroad for medical care . Adequate health coverage requires decentralizing medical education and infrastructure so as to bring basic and specialized medical care to the population rather than waiting for them to come for it . Only thoughtful leaders can operationalize such a system .
Second , and equally important , Africa must insist on locally manufacturing healthcare equipment . The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us the value of local manufacturing in terms of coverage and fast accessibility to essential medical drugs and equipment . Furthermore , local manufacturing has a considerable cost-effectiveness impact on product availability as it removes the importation cost and bottlenecks . Public-private partnerships are vital to achieving an effective healthcare system and medical tourism . Tax exemptions and land donations could be some of the major advantages the government can give to local health entrepreneurs , including medical universities , pharmaceutical companies , hospital chains , etc .
Additionally , in this process , inter-African collaboration must be understood as the creation of platforms to share research findings , exchange knowledge and skills and expand health business opportunities . Among other things , these platforms could stop , or at least reduce , the damaging effects of the hemorrhagic brain drain of African health minds , which has been happening for decades . In this regard , there is a quantifiable financial cost of African doctors leaving sub-Saharan Africa . For instance , according to the British Medical Journal , “ Africa experiences 24 % of the global burden of disease , yet it has only 2 % of the global supply of doctors and less than 1 % of expenditures on global health .”
Lessons from elsewhere
Medical tourism in India has been the subject of numerous case studies in the world . It has been growing at a rate of 30 % a year and is currently estimated to be worth US $ 5-6 billion with a growth projection up to US $ 13 billion by 2022 .
In addition to investing in advanced facilities and training healthcare providers , the Indian government through the Tourism Ministry and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare developed medical visas ( M-visa ), which allows medical tourists to visit India for a specific period or multiple entries if necessary . Most private hospitals have used the M-visa to their benefit by expanding their medical packages to include travel and accommodation cost discounts for medical at-
17