Bravo JKCI, you show how Africa heals

ACTUALLY, let us take a moment between political debates and traffic jams to send a sincere, cholesterol-free THANK YOU to the government of Tanzania for its unwavering support of the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI). No sarcasm here.

Since its official birth in 2015, JKCI has gone from being a hopeful idea to a full-blown cardiac powerhouse. Think of it as the Beyoncé of hospitals that is respected, flawless and globally relevant.

With more than 95bn/- saved over the past decade by treating patients locally, JKCI has not only spared lives but also spared the national wallet from suffering a myocardial infarction. Without its services, the government admits we would have burned through over 114 billion/- sending patients abroad.

That is not just cost-effective healthcare, it is an emergency procedure to save someone’s life during a cardiac arrest.

JKCI is now pitching medical camps outside the country to attract foreign patients. Yes, our doctors are now export-ready! Recently, a six-day medical camp in Zambia showcased Tanzania’s cardiac finesse, including the complex Tetralogy of Fallot repair-a surgery so advanced it sounds like a spell from Harry Potter.

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The collaboration with Zambia’s National Heart Hospital was not just cross-border goodwill; it was a business card, scalpel included. This is not just medical outreach. It is marketing with a stethoscope.

Medical tourism, ladies and gentlemen, is not some futuristic fantasy. It is here and Tanzania is inviting the world with open arms and open cathlabs. JKCI is now treating patients not only from Zanzibar and every region of Mainland Tanzania, but also from the DRC, Comoros, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda and Burundi. Word is spreading faster than a viral TikTok challenge. Let us talk tech. The institute is not stuck in the medical Stone Age. Far from it.

They have introduced AI-powered diagnostics capable of detecting early-stage malaria that is a lab so advanced, it is reportedly unmatched in East Africa. Cardiac procedures? JKCI has become a surgical symphony.

From routine cathlab procedures to the Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)-where valves are swapped without opening the chest and they are rewriting the medical playbook. In 2023, the institute pulled off 748 surgeries and by the end of this year, they are set to hit 800. No other institution in East Africa even comes close.

And let us not ignore the cherry on this cholesterol-free cake: 97 per cent of cardiac procedures are now performed locally.

That means more people are getting treated closer to home, surrounded by their loved ones and not jet-lagged and stressed in foreign hospitals. In a nutshell, credit goes to the government for continually investing in equipment, training and international partnerships.

Health diplomacy is now part of Tanzania’s foreign policy toolkit and we say, why not? So yes, to whoever green-lit the idea of exporting cardiac services while attracting medical tourists thank you. You have turned hearts into headlines and hospitals into hubs of innovation.

Tanzania is no longer just a safari destination. It is becoming a healing destination too. JKCI: May your heartbeat echo across Africa.