Diplomatist Magazine Africa Day Special 2018 | Page 50

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
venture or franchise mode. This can help to
bridge the gaps and link science and medicine
so as to underpin every aspect of patient care,
from diagnostic testing and treatment advice
to the use of cutting-edge genetic technologies
and the prevention of disease.
• Traditional Medicinal Support: The
African continent and India have a rich
heritage of traditional medicine. India and
some countries in Africa have already taken
steps to integrate the traditional systems with
the modern system in their national healthcare
programmes. India-Africa cooperation in the
health sector can take on a new dimension by
exchanging traditional systems of medicines
that can not only offer a preventive remedy but
are also cost-effective.
• Tele-medicine: India is also behind
the Pan-African e-Network Project, a joint
collaboration between the Indian government
and the African Union, which is the biggest
project for distance education and tele-medicine
ever undertaken in Africa. This project presents
a remarkable opportunity for India to provide
affordable healthcare and training to its partners
in Africa. The project facilitates the provision
of an interface between specialist doctors in the
46 • Africa Day Special • 2018
treatment and diagnosis of patients. With this
project, India can offer access to some of its best
universities and hospitals to African countries.
• Medical Tourism: Since the 1990s, India
has fl ourished into a global leader in the fi eld
of medical tourism. The Indian medical tourism
market is expected to grow from its current
size of $3 billion to $7-8 billion by 2020. India
ranks as the second largest recipient of medical
tourists in Asia, and Africa is one of the largest
source markets of medical tourism to India.
India holds an advantage in this area because of
the cost factor. For example, a kidney transplant
in India costs about $13,000, while the same
procedure will cost up to $300,000 in the US.
• E-Health: This is an emerging fi eld borne
out of the intersection of medical informatics,
public health, and business, and refers to health
services and information delivered or enhanced
through the Internet and related technologies.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defi nes
e-Health as “...the cost-effective and secure use
of information and communication technologies
in support of the health and health-related fi elds
including healthcare, health surveillance and
health education, knowledge and research.”
India and Africa share a commitment towards