The growing contribution of health-related travel to Africa’s airline industry, coupled with the relentless outflow of funds for overseas medical treatments, has reignited expert discussions about how Nigeria can retain its substantial healthcare spending within its borders.
Health system development experts are concerned that Nigeria, despite its significant market demand for healthcare services, has failed to invest sufficiently to capitalise on medical tourism.
Khama Rogo, former lead, World Bank Health in Africa Initiative, said the foreign healthcare needs of West Africans drive about 25 percent of two major African businesses: Kenya Airways and Ethiopia Airlines.