Dodoma — THE Benjamin Mkapa Hospital (BMH) is set to become a Medical Tourism Village within the next decade as the government intensifies efforts to position Tanzania as a leading destination for specialised healthcare in Africa.
The ambitious vision is expected to attract patients from across Africa and beyond, generate foreign exchange through medical tourism and further reduce referrals of Tanzanians seeking treatment abroad.
Chief Government Spokesperson and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, Mr Gerson Msigwa, said the government will continue investing in infrastructure, advanced medical equipment, digital health systems and human resource development to transform BMH into a regional centre of excellence in medical care.
Speaking in Dodoma on Wednesday while outlining the achievements of government development projects, Mr Msigwa said government investment worth 283bn/- had transformed BMH from a newly established hospital in 2015 into a modern referral facility offering world class specialist and super-specialist services.
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He said the investment had significantly expanded access to advanced healthcare, saved thousands of lives and laid a firm foundation for Tanzania to become a regional centre of excellence in medical care.
“It is no secret that India has made enormous progress by investing in specialised healthcare, attracting patients from many countries, including Tanzania. Our goal is to strengthen specialist and super-specialist services so that Tanzanians receive quality treatment at home while international patients come here, receive treatment and pay for the services. That is medical tourism,” Mr Msigwa said.
He said the Medical Tourism Village vision would build on the hospital’s growing capacity to provide specialised services and attract patients from outside the country, while creating a broader platform for healthcare, medical training and related services.
One of the major milestones has been the establishment of the Royal International Clinic, which since its launch on July 10 last year has served more than 18,607 patients, including 390 international clients, while introducing comprehensive Master Health Check-up services that continue to raise Tanzania’s profile as an emerging medical tourism destination.
Mr Msigwa said the government was continuing to expand the hospital through major strategic projects, including construction of a 32bn/- Cancer Centre and a 44.9bn/- Kidney Treatment Centre, jointly financed by the Government of Tanzania and the Government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
He added that plans were also underway to establish a Bone Marrow Transplant Centre of Excellence and a Benjamin Mkapa Hospital Health Training Institute, which will offer diploma-level medical training to address the growing demand for skilled healthcare professionals.
According to Mr Msigwa, sustained investment in infrastructure, advanced medical equipment, digital health systems and human resource development had increased the hospital’s workforce from just 20 employees in 2015 to 1,076 staff in 2026, including more than 100 specialist and super-specialist doctors.
“The hospital now offers 20 specialist and 18 super-specialist services, including kidney transplantation, bone marrow transplantation for children with sickle cell disease, open-heart surgery, cardiac catheterisation, neurosurgery, minimally invasive surgery, hip and knee replacement, advanced radiology and dialysis,” he added.
He said the availability of these services had drastically reduced the number of patients referred overseas for treatment, saving substantial public resources while attracting increasing numbers of foreign patients.
To date, the hospital has treated 2,897 patients from Burundi, 526 from Comoros, as well as patients from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other East and Central African countries.
Mr Msigwa said continued investment in BMH reflected President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s commitment to strengthening the country’s healthcare system while positioning Tanzania as one of Africa’s emerging centres for high-quality medical tourism.
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