Cape Town – Limpopo health MEC, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, has reportedly criticised African political leaders for seeking international healthcare while neglecting their own struggling healthcare systems.
Speaking at the Africa Health Indaba, she expressed concern about leaders accessing five-star medical facilities abroad, leaving their own citizens to suffer, Times Live reported.
She emphasised the need for African leaders to address and improve healthcare within their own countries rather than seeking treatment overseas.
“When I am sick I can be flown to a five-star medical centre and we don’t care. We die in Turkey and Singapore hospitals.
Dr Phophi Ramathuba is firework. Always holding African leaders in health uncomfortable, i like her honesty. pic.twitter.com/6PQBZMxd9Q
— Cynthia Matiase (@matiase_cynthia) October 18, 2023
“When you get to those hospitals it is five-star service. But who is paying for that? The very same poor and vulnerable we have left behind. No African leader must consult in another country. They must fix their own system. Die in your own country and hospitals,” the report quoted her as saying.
Ramathuba highlighted the challenges faced in her province due to a lack of collaboration in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, making it difficult to find solutions to healthcare problems.
She also argued that the healthcare system in Africa should be tailored to African lifestyles, acknowledging the shift from traditional village living to urban areas and the health challenges it has created.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
