Lagos: Choosing where to seek medical help is a deeply private decision. But the numerous occasions African leaders have sought treatment abroad have thrown the spotlight on local health care investment. To a large extent, leaders are responsible for the development of proper health care for the citizens of their countries.
According to Deutsche Welle, the deaths of former leaders Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria and Edgar Lungu of Zambia in foreign medical facilities have not calmed accusations that African leaders neglect public health systems in their own countries.
"The state of health care in Nigeria is deeply concerning. The biggest problem is infrastructure. There are no drugs and functional medical equipment," Jamila Atiku, a researcher on public health in Nigeria, told DW. Atiku further highlighted that over-reliance on external funding is unsustainable and that many African countries are not meeting their health financing commitments as outlined in the 2001 Abuja Declaration.
The Abuja Declaration saw African Union member states pledge to allocate 15% of their annual budgets to health care. However, two decades later, only Rwanda, Botswana, and Cape Verde consistently meet or exceed this target. Many other countries, including Nigeria, allocate less than 10% of their budgets to health care.
A chronic lack of specialized treatment and facilities is driving many African patients to seek medical treatment abroad. Over 300,000 Africans travel to India annually for medical services, spending more than $2 billion each year. Nigeria alone sees an estimated 5,000 citizens leave the country monthly for treatment, often spending significant amounts on oncology, orthopedics, nephrology, and cardiology.
Some African health authorities insist they are working to improve healthcare. Nigeria's Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Adekunle Salako, stated that efforts are underway to ensure that more primary health care facilities are functional by 2027. However, experts emphasize the need for modern health facilities to prevent medical tourism and improve health systems locally.
Health rights advocate Chamunorwa Mashoko argues that communities need to collaborate and build healthcare systems that work for them, as relying solely on political solutions is ineffective. Meanwhile, initiatives like Afreximbank's support facility aim to build specialized health facilities across Africa to reduce outbound medical tourism.
