In an article in the Zambia Daily Mail, Benedict Tembo argues that despite the recent encouragement for the sector given by President Lungu, Zambia still has a long way to go in attaining the medical standards to attract patients across borders. Zambian patients currently travel to India and South Africa for treatment.
He points out that Zambia cannot even track how much money is being made through the Cancer Diseases Hospital (CDH) as medical tourism.
He says that in Zambia’s border towns, foreign patients do come for treatment. For example, Malawians go to Mwami hospital in Chipata, Zimbabweans go to Mutendere in Chirundu district and Livingstone, while Congolese used to come to Mufulira, Kitwe and Chililabombwe mine hospitals. They didn’t do so, he argues, because Zambian facilities were superior, but because that was all that was available to them and their poor economies.
“All our neighbouring countries have even better services and expertise. Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and even Congo are better equipped than Zambian hospitals,” says Tembo. “We are recruiting doctors from countries like Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe due to shortages in our medical facilities.”