President John Dramani Mahama has called for greater investment in specialised healthcare facilities across Africa to reduce the amount of money leaving the continent through medical tourism.
He said developing high-end medical facilities within Africa would help retain financial resources, medical expertise and public confidence on the continent.
Speaking at the Health Plenary of the Alamein Africa Forum in Egypt, President Mahama cited Nigeria’s African Medical Center of Excellence in Abuja as an example of efforts to address outbound medical tourism.
He said the facility, pioneered by Afreximbank and King’s College Hospital, is seeking to tackle what he described as an estimated US$6 billion lost every year through medical tourism.
“By keeping high-end specialised care on the continent, we retain skills, wealth and consumer confidence,” President Mahama said.
He argued that Africa should not only focus on primary healthcare and basic medicines but must also build the capacity to provide specialised and advanced medical services locally.
According to the President, retaining patients who would otherwise travel abroad for treatment could generate significant economic benefits while strengthening domestic health systems.
He said investment in specialised healthcare could create opportunities for highly trained African doctors, nurses, scientists and other healthcare professionals to work on the continent.
President Mahama also linked medical tourism to the broader objective of health sovereignty, saying Africa must develop the infrastructure and expertise needed to meet the healthcare needs of its growing population.
He pointed to Egypt’s experience in combating hepatitis C as evidence that African countries can develop effective domestic solutions to major health challenges.
President Mahama said Egypt negotiated technology transfer and developed local pharmaceutical production capacity, enabling it to treat millions of citizens locally.
He argued that such experiences demonstrated the importance of investing in domestic health industries rather than relying exclusively on imported products and foreign treatment centres.
The President said Ghana is pursuing a similar broader strategy through the expansion of the National Health Insurance Scheme, the Free Primary Healthcare Programme and the Ghana Medical Trust.
He also said Ghana is strengthening institutions including the Food and Drugs Authority and the National Vaccine Institute to support domestic health production.
President Mahama called for greater private-sector investment in healthcare infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and specialised medical services to help build an integrated African health economy.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️) Presidential Affairs Correspondent | Ghana 🇬🇭
