TZ attracts more foreign patients
DODOMA: TANZANIA is making notable progress in medical tourism, attracting an increasing number of foreign patients for specialised and super-specialised treatment.
This development stems from the government’s continued investment in improving healthcare services across the country.
Presenting the Ministry of Health’s 2025/2026 budget estimates in Parliament, Minister Jenista Mhagama said the number of international patients seeking treatment in Tanzania rose from 5,705 in 2021 to 12,180 by March 2025.
Patients came from Comoros, Malawi, Burundi, Zambia, Rwanda, South Africa, Mozambique, the DRC, Sudan, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Egypt and Mauritius. They received treatment at Muhimbili National Hospital, Ocean Road Cancer Institute, Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute, Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute, Aga Khan Hospital and Saifee Hospital.
The minister said the government has strengthened the availability of specialised and super-specialised health services in regional and zonal referral hospitals, specialised hospitals and the national hospital to bring services closer to the people and promote medical tourism. Between July 2024 and March 2025, a total of 7,579,440 patients received care in these hospitals—6,728,605 as outpatients and 850,835 as inpatients.
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The services offered included cochlear implants, kidney transplants, gastric balloon placement, open and minimally invasive heart surgeries, brain and spinal surgeries, hip and knee replacements, and treatment for various cancers including cervical, breast, oesophageal, skin and prostate.
Other advanced procedures included brain vessel correction, keyhole brain surgery, surgery for hydrocephalus and spina bifida, arthroscopic knee surgery and interventional radiology.
The minister also said new super-specialised services were introduced, including in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), minimally invasive brain surgery without opening the skull, spinal surgery through small incisions, removal of brain tumours through the nasal cavity, and dental implants.
To enhance access to care, the government has continued offering exemptions for underprivileged citizens. From July 2023 to March 2024, national and referral hospitals provided free medical services worth 34bn/- to 268,244 patients. Common exempted services included dialysis, radiotherapy, laboratory and radiology tests, surgical services, medication and intensive care.
The ministry has also expanded access to eight core specialised services—obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, general surgery, orthopaedics, internal medicine, anaesthesia, radiology and emergency care—in regional referral hospitals.
The number of specialist doctors in regional hospitals increased from 321 in March 2024 to 431 in March 2025. Fifteen hospitals, equivalent to 54 per cent, now offer all eight core specialised services, up from eight hospitals in 2024.
