Medical tourism of African leaders, a form of global health colonization

There is an African idiom saying that if a man does not eat at home, he may never give his wife enough money to cook a good pot of soup. This idom could be related to the practice of medical tourism by African leaders, fleeing their own medical facilities.

Ever since multiple different African states have gained their independence, the health of many African leaders has not been a matter of domestic affairs, but rather a matter in which western countries play a key role. This choice has become automatic and results from a lack of confidence in their own health system. For instance, in 2012, after he had been shot, the Mauritian president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was transferred to France to have surgery. Also, in 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, spent several months in the United Kingdom for medical treatment. The list of African leaders who sought care or died in western countries is long.

These practices have three consequences: the cost, the failure to improve health care systems, and the geopolitical weakness towards western countries.

Medical tourism of African leaders is made possible by the payment of the expenses by taxpayers. It is estimated that in Uganda, the public money spent to treat top government officials abroad every year could be used to build 10 hospitals. To use the example of President Buhari of Nigeria presented above, the sole cost of parking his plane during three months in London, is estimated to be £360,000. This is the equivalent 0.07% of Nigeria’s allocation for health in 2017. Meanwhile, according to the latest World Health Organization figures, in 2004, there were five hospital beds for 10 000 inhabitants in Nigeria.

Moreover, by entrusting their health to a foreign state they provide a geopolitical weapon to the host country, especially when this country is a former colonial power. Many African political leaders were brought to power by western countries in order to serve the interests of westerners. This can be seen when the first Gabonese president, Léon Mba, got sick and went to Paris for treatment. The Elysée took advantage of the situation and asked him to change the Gabonese Constitution order to make the vice president the automatic successor of the president in the event of a vacancy in the office. Omar Bongo, known as a “friend” to France was chosen to be the vice president. After the death of President Mba, he became president of Gabon, where the French firm Elf was exploiting oil resources.

Sources :

"Ces présidents africains qui préfèrent se faire soigner à l'étranger...", Falila Gbadamassi, France Info.

"African politicians seeking medical help abroad is shameful, and harms health care", Tahiru Azaaviele Liedong, The Conversation.