Tanzania, Malawi deepen medical tourism ties at Mkapa Hospital

By Katare Mbashiru

Dodoma. The Benjamin Mkapa Hospital (BMH) has become the first medical facility in Tanzania to implement the country’s 2026 foreign policy regarding medical tourism, thanks to the newly established partnership with the government of Malawi.

Malawi’s Minister of Health and Sanitation, Madalitso Baloyi and her delegation Friday January 16 kicked off a two-day working visit of the BMH, pledging collaboration between Tanzania and Malawi on specialized health services.

While at the facility, she stressed on the need to foster medical tourism as she hinted that there was a huge backlog of patients in the neighbouring Malawi who will now be referred to the BMH to access specialised and super specialised medical services, a move that she said will reduce treatment costs and bolster bilateral ties between the two countries.

“In the previous years we were referring our patients to India and other European countries but with this partnership, we will now be bringing them to BMH to access similar services at a more affordable cost,’’ she said.

When addressing diplomats representing their countries in Tanzania at Chamwino State House on Thursday, President Samia Suluhu Hassan invited the diplomatic community to move beyond traditional assistance and instead engage in medical diplomacy in supporting Tanzania’s ambitions to become a regional hub for specialized care.

According to the President, as a core pillar of its 2026 foreign policy, the government intends to leverage the high reputation of medical institutions to attract both medical as well as sustainable tourism.

During her visit at the BMH, the Malawi minister for Health and Sanitation said her government was highly attracted by the best services offered at the facility, that is why her delegation came to learn from the experiences, especially the digital health system.

“We equally want to leverage the short distance here in Tanzania so that we access specialised facilities as well as reduce the cost of referrals in other countries,’’ she said.

In December last year, Ms Baloyi said, Malawi and BMH launched a new chapter in expanding collaborations through the Ministry of Health, focusing on improving specialized medical services, training for professionals, and research to benefit citizens on both sides.

This initiative follows preliminary discussions led by BMH’s Executive Director, Prof Abel Makubi, with Malawi’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Dan Namarika, under the coordination of Tanzania’s ambassador to Malawi, Agnes Kayora.

Following the partnership, BMH specialists visited four hospitals: Kamuzu Hospital (Lilongwe), Queen Elizabeth Hospital (Blantyre), Zomba, and Mzuzu, where they later met with Dr Namarika.

In collaborative discussions, according to Prof Makubi, BMH will support medical tourism, build professional capacity through training and medical camps, and collaborate on experience and research exchange.

Prof Makubi invited other countries in the East, Central and South African region to come and access specialized services at the BMH giving assurance that the hospital offers services based on quality and international standards.