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Why medical tourism is a potential game-changer for Tanzania
Among people who visited Tanzania in 2023, 6.8 percent came from Zambia and 8 percent of them came to seek medical attention. Kenya contributed 5.1 percent of all tourists, with 4 percent coming to Tanzania for medical treatment, according to NBS’ 2023 International Visitors’ Exit Survey Report. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Recent advancements in Tanzania’s medical ecosystem are creating a new form of tourism that could potentially be a game-changer in the country’s economic growth endeavours, available data shows
Dar es Salaam. Recent advancements in Tanzania’s medical ecosystem are creating a new form of tourism that could potentially be a game-changer in the country’s economic growth endeavours, available data shows.
While Tanzania, like many other African nations, is grappling with a number of health challenges, including a shortage of facilities and specialists, some neighbouring countries find solace in Tanzania’s recent advancements in the treatment of cancer, cardiac complications and kidney conditions, among other illnesses.
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data collected from the Immigration Department shows that the number of international visitors who travelled to in Tanzania increased by 24.3 percent to 1,808,205 in 2023 from 1,454,920 recorded in 2022.
Among people who visited Tanzania in 2023, 6.8 percent came from Zambia and 8 percent of them came to seek medical attention. Kenya contributed 5.1 percent of all tourists, with 4 percent coming to Tanzania for medical treatment, according to NBS’ 2023 International Visitors’ Exit Survey Report.
Burundi accounted for 4.8 percent of all tourists and 46 percent of those were attended to at various hospitals. Uganda contributed three percent of the total number of visitors in 2023, with 2.6 percent having come specifically for medical treatment.
DR Congo accounted for 2.5 percent of all tourists who came to Tanzania last year and 10 percent of them received medical attention.
Economists say the trend points to huge potential for Tanzania to cash in on medical tourism, noting, however, that the country needs to improve service quality to make the most of the development.
Availability of accommodation facilities for patients’ relatives, simplifying the visas acquisition process and promoting research into traditional medicines are key in this endeavour.
According to the report, visitors from far-flung source markets such as the US, Italy and Germany mostly travelled to Tanzania for leisure and holidays.
Due to historical and traditional ties, visitors from Kenya and Burundi predominantly arrived to visit friends and relatives, as well as attend meetings and conferences.
Dar es Salaam Port also played a key role in attracting visitors from Zambia, Zimbabwe and DR Congo to Tanzania for business purposes, the report says.
Data from the report shows that the US, Italy, Germany, Zambia, United Kingdom, France, Kenya, Burundi, Spain, Uganda, the DRC, the Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Canada and India were Tanzania’s top 15 tourist sources in 2023.
The government has outlined in the Health ministry’s 2024/2025 budget its plan to develop medical tourism by strengthening national, specialised and regional hospitals to provide expert and specialised services to citizens and foreign nationals.
“By March 2024, a total of 7,843 foreign nationals from various countries received these services through local experts compared to 5,705 foreign nationals in 2022/23,” Health minister Ummy Mwalimu told Parliament.
Many patients, she said, were treated at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI), Ocean Road Cancer Institute, the Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute (MOI), Benjamin Mkapa Hospital in Dodoma and some regional hospitals in the country.
In addition to public health facilities, foreign national are also treated at various private hospitals, according to Dr Egina Makwabe, chairman of the Private Health Service Providers Association (Aphta).
The association is currently preparing a database showing where patients come from and what treatment they receive.
Aphta also plans to establish a system that will identify which hospitals provide which specialised services and the experts available. This will aid in referring patients locally to hospitals that offer specialised services instead of writing referrals for treatment abroad.
“We also expect to have a meeting of non-governmental organisations to be held on August 30 and 31 in Dar es Salaam that will involve stakeholders from East Africa. One of the topics to be discussed is medical tourism and we will have the opportunity to inform our colleagues about what we are doing to attract more patients,” Dr Makwabe said.
However, he emphasised that facilitating medical tourism requires joint efforts by the Health ministry, Immigration Department and Natural Resources and Tourism ministry.
Prof Abel Kinyondo of the University of Dar es Salaam said as the world begins to shift towards other types of tourism, medical tourism is one of the steps that can be utilised by countries to continue generating revenue.
To ensure this type of tourism bears fruit, he called for the quality of services provided to be prioritised to make Tanzania a preferred medical tourism destination like India.
“We also need enough hotel beds because patients are often accompanied by relatives and some come with nurses, who must have a place to sleep,” Prof Kinyondo said.
He added that if a patient is being treated at Muhimbili National Hospital, for instance, there should be a hotel nearby to make it easier for those who accompanied them to visit them in hospital.
The availability of visas is another issue that should be addressed to make it easier for those who need to travel to Tanzania for medical attention.
Prof Aurelia Kamuzora of Mzumbe University said much as Tanzania is moving in the right direction in terms of medical tourism, more is needed in the area of traditional medicines to give the country a unique advantage.
