Turkish healthcare expertise paves the way for collaboration in Uganda

By Hamza Kyeyune

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) — Türkiye and Uganda have ample opportunity to cooperate in healthcare and in boosting investment, according the Turkish envoy to the East African nation, urging companies in his country to make the most of the conducive climate.

Fatih Ak made these remarks at the inaugural event of Türkiye's Acibadem Healthcare Group, a leading brand in medical tourism that has engaged with Uganda on healthcare protocols. The cooperation agreements aim to improve access to good quality healthcare.

"Türkiye’s health sector has tremendously improved over years, and it is our desire to share our capabilities with brotherly countries," said the ambassador, expressing Ankara's intention to continue supporting Kampala in meeting its long-term development plans.

"I know the Acibadem Healthcare Group. They have advanced facilities and skilled doctors. I believe their presence in Uganda will be impactful," he added.

Ugandan Ambassador to Türkiye Nusura Tiperu urged Turkish investors to explore the potential of Uganda and position themselves for investments. She also highlighted the competitive incentives offered by the Uganda to prospective Turkish investors.

Levent Serdar Dervisoglu, the Honorary Consul of Uganda to Türkiye in Istanbul, noted the progress and deepening relations between Uganda and Türkiye over the years. He encouraged other industries in the Turkish private sector to engage in business activities, investment, and infrastructure development in Uganda, based on the principles of mutual benefit and shared prosperity.

The economic attache at the Turkish Embassy in Kampala, Erhan Gokce, pointed to a significant increase in visa applicants among Ugandans seeking medical tourism in Türkiye.

Acibadem's Deputy CEO Rasim Topuz explained that the healthcare group, based in Istanbul with a presence in countries including Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, and the Netherlands, provides a comprehensive range of services using cutting-edge technology and a large pool of expert clinicians that meet international quality standards. He added that the group prefers to treat patients in their home countries.

Analysts, while praising Acibadem's idea of providing medical attention to patients in their home countries, they have cautioned that this strategy may meet challenges in Uganda due to a lack in infrastructure and skilled doctors, especially for complex medical treatments such as neurosurgery, cardiology, and transplants.

They recommend a home-grown model in other African countries, which involves attracting healthcare investors to construct hospitals or acquire existing facilities. This would be followed by engaging experienced medical professionals from abroad to provide expertise and run the hospitals.

"This model provides a great opportunity to significantly develop Uganda’s healthcare sector and increase the capacity of domestic medical professionals," said Dr. Fatuma Nakintu of Mulago referral hospital to Anadolu.

Uganda, like many other African countries, has made considerable progress in fighting diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, polio, and measles. However, when it comes to handling complex medical conditions, capacity is limited.

In April 2001, African leaders met in Abuja and pledged to allocate at least 15% of their annual budget to the health sector. However, public spending on health in Uganda has not been on par with the Abuja declaration, representing only about 6% of the national budget. This falls far below the international benchmark of 15% and has struggled to meet the needs of the health sector.

As a result, medical equipment required to treat patients are not available, infrastructure is hardly upgraded, healthcare professionals are poorly trained, insufficiently paid and supervised, all resulting in poor quality medical care.

This has pushed many patients to seek medical attention abroad, including a rising number who travel to Türkiye, according to the Turkish Embassy in Kampala.