The Sunday News
Ngonidzashe Chiutsi Business Correspondent
THE Government is considering tapping into the rapidly growing medical tourism industry where it would want foreigners from the region to visit the country seeking medication and later on take them to a number of tourism sites. Medical tourism is a term that has risen from the rapid growth of an industry where people from all over the world are travelling to other countries to obtain medical, dental and surgical care, while at the same time touring, vacationing and fully experiencing the attractions of the countries that they are visiting.
In an interview with Sunday Business last week, Health and Child Care Minister, Dr David Parirenyatwa, said the Government was keen to tap into the medical tourism industry.
“We want our health institutions to be revamped and offer high quality health services and be able to attract people from Malawi, Mozambique and Botswana. This country will have enough health expertise and health facilities and be able to attract people from within the region,” said the minister.
He said some countries such as India were already enjoying returns from the relatively new industry.
“For example people are now going to India to seek medical attention and to India that’s health tourism. We would want the same to happen in Zimbabwe,” said the minister, adding that the Government was already working on the plan to ensure that it succeeds.
The managing director of a tour operating company, Beneath Africa Travel and Tours, Mr Ranjis Nyakusengwa, said as tourism operators, they would appreciate that concept.
“That’s a brilliant idea. We have many tourism sites like Matopo, Victoria Falls, Kariba, that if people, come here for medical attention can also go out and refresh,” said Mr Nyakusengwa.
He said local surgeons recently managed to separate conjoined twins in Harare and could use that to attract people from other regions with a similar complication.
Medical tourism is a rapidly growing industry with countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Peru, Hungary, India, Israel, Jordan, Lithuania, Malaysia, South Africa, Thailand and the Philippines actively promoting it.
In India, the treatments for which they regularly visit are heart surgery, knee transplant, cosmetic surgery and dental surgery.
Zimbabwe used to attract patients from the region before its health system faced problems.
In 1996 and 1997 about 17 and 77 people respectively from Botswana came to Mpilo Hospital to seek radio therapy services.
Regrettably the number has gone down and in 2001, only two people from the same country visited the institution for medical attention.
However, the Government was working flat out to regain the lost glory.
