MUHIMBILI National Hospital (MNH)-Mloganzila has provided specialised medical services to 489 foreign patients over the past five years, from 2021 to 2025.

 This significant influx highlights Tanzania's growing role as a destination for medical tourism.

According to figures released by MNH, the hospital has already treated 114 foreign patients by June of this year. This follows a steady increase in international patient numbers: 54 in 2021, 46 in 2022, 115 in 2023, and 160 in 2024.

MNH executive director, Dr Delilah Kimambo, recently said that the hospital offers highly specialised and expert medical care. "Muhimbili National Hospital continues to provide specialised and super-specialised services, not only for Tanzanians but also for citizens of neighbouring countries," Dr Kimambo stated. "While we primarily receive patients from Comoros, we're increasingly seeing foreign nationals residing here, including those from Canada, China, Nigeria, and Cameroon, who have shown great confidence in our hospital. It's now very common to find them admitted and receiving care."

Dr Kimambo emphasised that MNH-Mloganzila has invested in creating an enabling environment to accommodate these international patients as part of a broader strategy to promote medical tourism in Tanzania.

"Medical tourism is a cross-cutting issue involving many sectors, and we have continued to collaborate with the Ministry of Health to make this a success. This is how we will ultimately achieve our medical tourism goals; once these patients are treated, they can also be taken to other desired locations," she explained.

Furthermore, Dr Kimambo noted that the hospital has upgraded its patient rooms to a high standard, offering advanced services such as bone marrow and kidney transplants, as well as dialysis. 

PuShe highlighted the Tanzanian government's significant investment in the health sector, particularly in specialised and super-specialised services. She contrasted this with neighbouring countries, where such advanced public hospital services are often only available in private facilities.