Criticism by SA’s Health Minister of African leaders who seek medical treatment overseas was met with a silence at a recent meeting of the continent's health ministers, reports BBC News. Aaron Motsoaledi condemned "health tourism" while speaking in Zimbabwe.
The report says President Robert Mugabe, who frequently receives treatment in Singapore, had left the meeting of health ministers when Motsoaledi made the comments. But Mugabe's spokesperson has said that the president's doctor "is not only Zimbabwean, he is actually black… He is very, very, very black".
The report says George Charamba made those comments in May, insisting that Mugabe was not turning his back on Zimbabwean medical help.
Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari and Angola's José Eduardo dos Santos have also been criticised for seeking medical treatment abroad this year.
According to the report, Motsoaledi said: "We are the only continent that has its leaders seeking medical services outside the continent, outside our territory. We must be ashamed of that. This is called health tourism. We must promote our own," he added.
Motsoaledi also urged governments to increase funding to local facilities. He has been praised by South Africans for using public hospitals instead of private facilities.
It was the elephant in the room as over 30 of Africa's health ministers met to discuss strategies to tackle the continent's public health problems, writes a BBC analyst.
The list of African heads of state who have recently sought medical treatment abroad includes President Muhammadu Buhari, Angola's outgoing President José Eduardo dos Santos, Zimbabwe's 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe, Benin's President Patrice Talon and 80-year-old Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
When Dr Motsoale made the comments in a plenary session, his remarks were met with silence from the other member states represented. Dr Motsoaledi admitted his position is a controversial one, but added that it needed to be said.
Mugabe's medical leave in 2017:
17 Jan: President Robert Mugabe leaves Zimbabwe on an official trip then, according to the Standard, takes a detour to Singapore for routine checks
8 May: State media report that Mr Mugabe has left for Singapore on another routine medical check-up
9 July: Mr Mugabe leaves again for Singapore – a youth rally is postponed as a result and the main opposition accuse him of "ruling from a hospital bed"
[link url="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-41081106"]BBC News report[/link]