India’s medical tourism gets Africans’attention

非洲關(guān)注印度的醫(yī)療旅游

Many lured byaffordable treatment, state-of-the art equipment, top-notch doctors andfollow-up

care

許多人被吸引，是因?yàn)槟抢镉袃r(jià)格合適的治療方案，先進(jìn)的醫(yī)療設(shè)備，一流的醫(yī)生和隨訪護(hù)理。

Nagged by a sharp back pain three years

ago, Abidemi Ogbonna from Lagos, Nigeria, decided to visit a nearby hospital

called Apollo. Thinking it was just a minor problem, she was shocked when her

physician informed her that she urgently needed a kidney transplant.The procedure could not be performed locally, her doctor

told her. Flying to India was her best chance of a successful operation. Ms.Ogbonna’s middle-class family could afford the expenses, and so immediate

arrangements were made for her visa.

三年前，受背部劇痛的困擾，尼日利亞拉各斯的Abidemi Ogbonna決定到附近的做阿波羅醫(yī)院就醫(yī)。剛開(kāi)始她認(rèn)為這是一個(gè)小問(wèn)題，沒(méi)想到她的醫(yī)生告知她需要立即做腎臟移植手術(shù)。但當(dāng)?shù)貨](méi)法完成這種手術(shù)，她的醫(yī)生告訴她，最好去印度做手術(shù)。Ogbonna的中產(chǎn)家庭可以承受費(fèi)用，因此她立即著手辦簽證。

The Apollo

Hospital in Nigeria scheduled a surgery date with its counterpart in India,

helped secure Ms. Ogbonna’s visa, and booked her flight and accommodation in

India. All she needed to do was pay the bill. Once she did, she took the next

flight and made the long journey to save her life. She was accompanied by her

mother.

尼日利亞的阿波羅醫(yī)院可以聯(lián)系它在印度的合作醫(yī)院預(yù)約手術(shù)日期，幫助Ogbonna小姐辦好簽證，訂好機(jī)票和印度的住宿。她唯一需要做的就是付錢。一旦付錢，她就可以立即坐長(zhǎng)途飛機(jī)前往印度挽救自己的生命。她母親隨同前往。

Ms. Ogbonna’s story is typical of

hundreds of Africans who travel outside of their home countries for medical

attention.

India is increasingly becoming popular

with Africans seeking medical treatment overseas, because of its more

affordable, state-of-the-art equipment and its highly skilled doctors. Ms.Ogbonna’s other options were the US and theUK; however, health care there is extremely expensive and getting visas tothose countries is a nightmare, unlike with India, where visas are issuedwithin a week and treatment is comparatively cheap.

Ogbonna小姐的故事是許許多多非洲人的故事之一，他們都離開(kāi)祖國(guó)求醫(yī)問(wèn)藥。隨著非洲人尋醫(yī)海外人數(shù)的增長(zhǎng)，印度越來(lái)越受歡迎，因?yàn)橛《柔t(yī)療費(fèi)用價(jià)格合適，又有一流的醫(yī)療設(shè)備和技藝精湛的醫(yī)生。Ogbonna小姐也可以選擇美國(guó)或者英國(guó)；然而，那里的健康保健費(fèi)用極高，并且想要得到簽證極難，不像印度，簽證一周之內(nèi)可以辦好，費(fèi)用又相當(dāng)?shù)汀?/p>

State of health

care in Africa

非洲的國(guó)家醫(yī)療保健

The Global Health WorkforceAlliance, which advocates forsolutions for countries that lack adequate health care systems, said in its2015 report that sub-Saharan Africa was facing a severe shortage of health careprofessionals and lacked adequate health care coverage for those in need ofmedical treatment. This is jarring news to a continent that carries a largedisease burden, including the world’s highest rates of communicable diseasessuch as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, among others. According to medicaljournalBMJ, “Africa experiences 24% of the global burden of disease,yet it has only 2% of the global supply of doctors and less than 1% ofexpenditures on global health.”

全球衛(wèi)生人力聯(lián)盟，是一個(gè)提倡為缺乏足夠醫(yī)療保健系統(tǒng)的國(guó)家提供解決方案的組織機(jī)構(gòu)。在它2015年的年報(bào)中提到撒哈拉沙漠以南的非洲極度缺乏醫(yī)療保健專業(yè)人員，同時(shí)醫(yī)療保健覆蓋面也不足以全面覆蓋有需求的人口。對(duì)于有著沉重疾病負(fù)擔(dān)的非洲大陸來(lái)說(shuō)，這是一個(gè)令人震驚的消息，因?yàn)檫@里的傳染病比例世界最高，比如瘧疾，肺結(jié)核和艾滋病。根據(jù)醫(yī)學(xué)期刊-英國(guó)醫(yī)學(xué)期刊的報(bào)道，“非洲的疾病占全球24%，但非洲只擁有全球2%的醫(yī)生，醫(yī)療開(kāi)支只占全球的1%”。

Health care systems in many Africancountries are inadequately funded. For example, Nigeria, which is one of Africa’srichest countries with a national income of $594,257 billion (before the recentcurrency depreciation), spends only 4.6% on health care.

非洲許多國(guó)家的醫(yī)療保健系統(tǒng)沒(méi)有足夠的資金支持。比如尼日利亞是非洲最有錢的國(guó)家之一，國(guó)民收入有594.257萬(wàn)億美國(guó)（最近的貨幣貶值之前），但在醫(yī)療保健的投入只有4.6%。

About 40,000 Nigerians visited India in2015, half of them for medical reasons, such as transplant surgery, jointreplacement and dental surgery, among other procedures, according to the Indianhigh commissioner to Nigeria, Ajjampur Ghanshyam.

尼日利亞的印度高級(jí)專員Ajjampur Ghanshyam說(shuō)，2015年有大約4萬(wàn)名尼日利亞人到訪印度，其中一半是為了求醫(yī)，比如為了移植手術(shù)，關(guān)節(jié)置換手術(shù)和口腔外科手術(shù)。

But why are Africans seeking medicalcare in India?

那為什么非洲人選擇到印度就醫(yī)呢？

Why India?

為什么是印度？

Since the 1990s India has been flauntedas a global leader in “medical tourism,” defined as the travel of people to aplace other than where they normally reside for the purpose of obtainingmedical treatment in that country.

從1990年開(kāi)始，印度就吹噓自己是全球醫(yī)療旅游的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者。醫(yī)療旅游的定義是某國(guó)人到另外一個(gè)國(guó)家求醫(yī)而不在本國(guó)求醫(yī)的旅行。

India boasts highly qualified doctorsand state-of-the-art equipment, and the treatments are approved by the WorldHealth Organization (WHO) and the US Food and Drug Administration. In additionto quality medical services provided by its hospitals and doctors, patients goto India because medical costs are a lot cheaper compared with the US and UK.

印度自稱有技藝精湛的醫(yī)生，有一流的醫(yī)療設(shè)備，并且治療是經(jīng)過(guò)國(guó)際衛(wèi)生組織、美國(guó)食品藥品管理局批準(zhǔn)的。除了優(yōu)質(zhì)的醫(yī)療服務(wù)之外，患者去印度也是因?yàn)楹兔绹?guó)、英國(guó)相比費(fèi)用便宜很多。

For example, akidney transplant in India costs about $13,000, while the same procedure willcost up to $300,000 in the US.

比如，腎臟移植手術(shù)在印度花費(fèi)1.3萬(wàn)美元，而相同的手術(shù)在美國(guó)花費(fèi)30萬(wàn)美元。

“The cost of a kidney transplantsurgery with blood-related donor is between $13,000 and $16,000,” says Dr.Dheeraj Bojwani, the director of Forerunners Healthcare Consultants, one of theleading medical value providers in India, which is associated with tophospitals and surgeons in the country.

印度主要的醫(yī)療供應(yīng)商之一，先驅(qū)醫(yī)療保健咨詢機(jī)構(gòu)，提供頂級(jí)的醫(yī)院和醫(yī)生資源，它的主任Dheeraj Bojwani醫(yī)生說(shuō)，帶血液供者的腎臟移植手術(shù)花費(fèi)1.3萬(wàn)-1.6萬(wàn)美元，

Dr. Bojwani toldAfrica Renewal via e-mail that the $13,000 kidney transplant package includespreoperative medical checkups, consultations and follow-up, surgery andsurgeon’s fees, anesthetist’s fees and drugs.

Bojwani醫(yī)生通過(guò)郵件告知非洲振興報(bào)，1.3萬(wàn)美元的腎臟移植手術(shù)套餐包含外科手術(shù)前的醫(yī)學(xué)檢查，咨詢和隨訪，手術(shù)和外科醫(yī)生的費(fèi)用，麻醉師的費(fèi)用和藥費(fèi)。

The package also

includes the patient’s stay in the hospital (in an air-conditioned deluxe room

with TV, cable, and phone); food for the entire duration of the patient’s stay

in hospital; airport pickup and drop-off; andboardfor one accompanying attendant.

套餐也包括患者在醫(yī)院的房間（帶空調(diào)、電視、發(fā)報(bào)機(jī)和電話的豪華客房），在醫(yī)院期間所有的食物，接送機(jī)服務(wù)，一名陪護(hù)的飲食費(fèi)用。

Many patients from Africa prefer ApolloHospital, which is headquartered in Chennai in India’s state of Tamil Nadu.With more than 60 locations throughout India, it has its own health insurancescheme and has established partnerships with 10 international insurancecompanies that assist patients to cover medical costs.

許多非洲的患者喜歡阿波羅醫(yī)院，它的總部在泰米爾德邦的金奈。在印度有60家分院，它有自己的醫(yī)療保險(xiǎn)體制，并和全球10家保險(xiǎn)公司建立伙伴關(guān)系，幫助患者支付醫(yī)療費(fèi)用。

On the cost of drugs, India producesgeneric pharmaceuticals for a fraction of the price in the West. For example,Cipla, a multinational Indian pharmaceutical company, cut the price of HIV/AIDSantiretroviral drugs to below a dollar a day. This brought the cost ofexpensive antiretroviral medications down from about $12,000 to no more than$365 per year.

在藥品價(jià)格方面，印度生產(chǎn)和西方類似的藥物但是藥品只有西方的小部分。比如西普拉是一家跨國(guó)的印度制藥公司，能把艾滋病抗逆轉(zhuǎn)錄病毒藥物的價(jià)格砍到每天小于1美金。把昂貴的抗逆轉(zhuǎn)錄病毒的藥物從每年1.2萬(wàn)美金砍到了每年不超過(guò)365美金。

Besides, the Indian government is

providing additional incentives to attract foreign patients. These incentivescapitalize onthe country’s “exotic” appeal, and include tourism packages allowing patientsto bring along a companion for a discounted travel cost to sightsee landmarkssuch as the Taj Mahal.

除此之外，印度政府為了吸引外國(guó)患者提供了額外的好處。這些好處是利用了異域風(fēng)情，為隨同陪伴的人員提供去印度地標(biāo)性景點(diǎn)比如泰姬陵的打折觀光套餐。

For English-speaking Africans such asMs. Ogbonna, language is not a barrier, as English is the lingua franca inIndia. And for those seeking forms of treatment other than surgery, India ishome to alternative treatments such as Ayurveda, a plant-based therapy thatuses herbs, breathing exercises, diet changes, meditation and stretching forhealing.

對(duì)于像Ogbonna小姐這樣會(huì)英語(yǔ)的非洲人來(lái)說(shuō)，語(yǔ)言不是障礙，因?yàn)橛⒄Z(yǔ)是印度的通用語(yǔ)言。對(duì)于那些尋求其他療法而不是外科手術(shù)的人來(lái)說(shuō)，印度是尋求稀奇古怪療法的不二選擇，比如印度韋達(dá)養(yǎng)生學(xué)，是以植物為本的療法，會(huì)用到草藥、吐納練習(xí)、飲食調(diào)整、冥想和康復(fù)拉伸。

Follow-up care and

sustainability

隨訪護(hù)理和可持續(xù)性

Ms. Ogbonna has recently returned toher home in Lagos where she is recuperating and where she spoke toAfrica

Renewalby phone. Doctors in India advised her to visit Apollo Hospital inNigeria for a follow-up. But she fears that because of a lack of equipment, herLagos doctor may not be able to provide the full post-surgery care that shedesires.Follow-up visits to India maynot be possible for kidney transplant patients who have relapsed and who mayneed to be hospitalized in a matter of minutes, considering the time needed toplan the journey (at least five days to get a visa) and the subsequent flightcosts.

非洲振興的記者電話聯(lián)系了Ogbonna小姐，近期她已經(jīng)返回拉各斯的家中，目前正在康復(fù)中。印度的醫(yī)生建議她去尼日利亞的阿波羅醫(yī)院進(jìn)行隨訪護(hù)理。但是她比較害怕，因?yàn)槟抢镌O(shè)備不足，她在拉各斯的醫(yī)生可能沒(méi)能力提供她所需的術(shù)后護(hù)理。而對(duì)于腎臟移植的患者來(lái)說(shuō)，到印度做隨訪護(hù)理是不可能的，因?yàn)榭紤]到計(jì)劃旅行所需的時(shí)間（拿到簽證至少5天）和隨之而來(lái)的機(jī)票費(fèi)用，他們分分鐘就可能會(huì)復(fù)發(fā)而住院。

Toaddressthese issues, the Indian governmentestablished the Focus Africa Programme and partnered with the African Union toset up the Pan African e-Network to ensure continuity care for patients.

為了解決這些問(wèn)題，印度政府建立了聚焦非洲計(jì)劃，并和非盟合作建立‘非洲盤電子網(wǎng)絡(luò)’來(lái)保證患者的持續(xù)護(hù)理。

Established in 2002, the Focus AfricaProgramme facilitates India’s trading with several African countries, includingEgypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, in affordable pharmaceuticals (inaddition to other trade items) so that they become easily accessible on thecontinent.

始于2002年的聚焦非洲計(jì)劃促進(jìn)了印度和一些非洲國(guó)家在負(fù)擔(dān)得起的藥物之間的交易（除了其他交易項(xiàng)目），這些國(guó)家包括埃及、尼日利亞、肯尼亞和南非，這樣印度可以很容易的進(jìn)入非洲大陸。

The Pan-African e-Network promotestele-education and tele-medicine to ensure continuity of care for Africanpatients treated in India. Tele-education allows one to receive lessons over anInternet connection or video, while tele-medicine specialises in diagnosing andproviding health care from remote locations over a telecommunications device.Such a system allows a patient to access care through teaching hospitals inAfrica that are connected to sister hospitals in India.

非洲盤電子網(wǎng)絡(luò)促進(jìn)了遠(yuǎn)程教育和遠(yuǎn)程醫(yī)療，保證了在印度就醫(yī)的非洲患者的后續(xù)治療。遠(yuǎn)程教育可以讓人們通過(guò)網(wǎng)絡(luò)或者視頻上課，而遠(yuǎn)程醫(yī)療專門用于診斷和提供醫(yī)療保健服務(wù)，這種醫(yī)療服務(wù)即便是偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)也可以通過(guò)通訊裝置得到。這種系統(tǒng)允許患者通過(guò)與印度有聯(lián)絡(luò)的非洲醫(yī)學(xué)院獲得醫(yī)療服務(wù)。

Indian health care firms are also taking

steps to create joint ventures with hospitals in Africa. At the moment they areinvesting in Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius and Mozambique.

印度的衛(wèi)生保健公司也在著手與非洲的醫(yī)院建立合資公司?，F(xiàn)在，他們正在埃及、賽爾俄比亞、肯尼亞、毛里求斯和莫桑比克進(jìn)行投資。

South Africa

南非

Meanwhile, SouthAfrica has been making medical advances, with statistics showing that in 2012,between 300,000 and 350,000 tourists from all around Africa travelled to SouthAfrica for medical treatment. In addition to shorter travel times than India,South Africa advertises the added allure of safaris and spas.

同時(shí)，南非的醫(yī)療也在進(jìn)步，2012年的統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)顯示，非洲大約30萬(wàn)-35萬(wàn)的觀光者到南非是為了治病。除了距離比印度近之外，南非還有額外的游獵和spa。

African travellers

coming to South Africa for medical treatments do so less for cost savings and

more because of South Africa’s advanced infrastructure and medical technology,

as well as its doctors, whose skills areon par

withinternational standards.

那些為了治病去南非的人，并不能省多少錢，他們更多的是看中南非先進(jìn)的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施和醫(yī)療技術(shù)，當(dāng)然還有那些擁有國(guó)際水平的醫(yī)生。

For Europeans and

travellers from the Americas and Asia, South Africa offers an affordable

alternative for many cosmetic procedures, thanks tothe weak rand. For example, a breast augmentation procedure that costs$8,000 in the UK would cost about $3,600 in South Africa, according to MedicalTourism SA, a consultancy firm that offers total health care information formedical travellers.

對(duì)于那些來(lái)自歐洲、美國(guó)和亞洲的人來(lái)說(shuō)，南非提供了價(jià)格合理的整容手術(shù)?！戏轻t(yī)療旅游’是一家為醫(yī)療旅游者提供全面衛(wèi)生保健信息的咨詢公司，據(jù)他們說(shuō)，在英國(guó)做隆胸手術(shù)需要花費(fèi)8000美元，而在南非是3600美元，

American patientswho pay about $12,400 for in vitro fertilisation, a procedure that helps awoman become pregnant, can expect to pay a third of that in South Africa.

美國(guó)患者做試管嬰兒需要花費(fèi)1.24萬(wàn)美金，而南非的價(jià)格是前者的1/3.

It is for this

reason that the number of African medical tourists going to South Africa by air

has increased by 54% in the past three years to 10,477 asof 2015, notes Seye Abimbola in a blog for the African Development Bank.

Seye Abimbola在非洲發(fā)展銀行的博客上說(shuō)，正因?yàn)槿绱?，過(guò)去三年，乘飛機(jī)到南非的非洲醫(yī)療旅游者人數(shù)增加了54%，達(dá)到2015年的1.0477萬(wàn)人次。

Going forward

展望

While medicaltourism will continue as people shop around for prices and countries vie toimprove their offerings, solving the health system challenges in Africa willlikely reduce the amount spent on medical tourism. In turn, savings frommedical tourism can be used to finance or subsidise health insurance for thepoor.

醫(yī)療旅游會(huì)持續(xù)，因?yàn)槿藗儠?huì)到處進(jìn)行性價(jià)比的比較，而解決非洲醫(yī)療系統(tǒng)挑戰(zhàn)可能會(huì)減少醫(yī)療旅游。反之，醫(yī)療旅游省下來(lái)的錢可以用來(lái)資助窮人的醫(yī)療保險(xiǎn)。

Going forward,Africa should create regional and national medical hubs, as well as tap intopharmaceutical markets in order to produce and distribute generic drugs thatwill reduce dependence on overseas countries for medical treatment. Thoughoffshore health care comes with many benefits, critics say it is notsustainable and it does not necessarily help African economies.

展望未來(lái)，非洲應(yīng)該建立地區(qū)性的和全國(guó)性的醫(yī)療樞紐，也應(yīng)該接軌藥品市場(chǎng)，這樣才能生產(chǎn)銷售類藥物，減少對(duì)海外醫(yī)療的依賴。評(píng)論家說(shuō)，雖然海外醫(yī)療有很多好處，但是這不可持續(xù)，而且也幫不了非洲的經(jīng)濟(jì)。