Cartoon: African presidents and foreign medical trips

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari (74) recently returned to the U.K. for medical treatment, his fourth visit to the U.K. for treatment since his election in 2015. In the same week Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe (93), flew to Singapore for a “routine medical check-up”. Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos (74) has reportedly also been undergoing medical treatment in Spain. These cases have stirred debate around medical tourism. Health care systems in many African countries are inadequately funded. There are arguments that our African presidents need to lead by example, and ensure that healthcare systems in their countries improve to match or surpass the foreign countries they so much love to visit.