OTUWA launches campaign against medical tourism by political leaders

The Organisation of Trade Union Organizations of West Africa, OTUWA, is set to launch a regional campaign against medical tourism by political elites in West Africa.

The campaign with the slogan “Our Leaders Must Use Our Hospitals,” is aimed to challenge the culture that normalizes medical tourism among political elites, while also demanding more funding for healthcare in the region

This was part of resolutions reached at a research dissemination workshop organised by OTUWA with support from the Solidarity Center.

The meeting which brought together the over 30 trade union leaders and activists from West Africa, highlighted the damaging effect of elite medical tourism on local healthcare system.

Participants noted how medical tourism disproportionately benefits elites while diverting resources that could strengthen local health system, leaving health workers demoralised by poor investment in domestic healthcare, and therefore leading to brain drain. 

Trade unions therefore reaffirmed their commitment to pushing for inclusive health policies and demanding increased public investment in health, and the regulation of government-funded overseas medical travel.

In his opening remark, the Executive Secretary of the  OTUWA Comrade John Odah  drew urgent attention to the deepening crisis posed by the unchecked rise of medical tourism in West Africa.

He noted: “Medical tourism, as currently practiced, is not merely a symptom of failing health systems, it is a direct contributor to the structural poverty and inequality that undermine our societies. 

“When public officials and elites routinely bypass domestic health facilities in favour of treatment abroad, they abandon their responsibility to invest in and improve the healthcare services that ordinary citizens depend upon”.

Odah emphasised that “this two-tiered system of health access is unjust and dangerous,” adding that “It entrenches inequality by ensuring that quality care remains a privilege for the few while the majority struggle with underfunded, overstretched local hospitals.”

According to him, “in essence, it creates a healthcare apartheid, one that contradicts the principles of social justice and equal opportunity that we, as trade unions, uphold”.

 “Moreover, the unchecked diversion of public resources, whether financial, administrative, or human capital, toward private overseas medical travel erodes trust in democratic governance. 

“It signals a lack of accountability and widens the gap between elected leaders and the people they serve. Democracy cannot thrive when leaders do not rely on the same public services as their constituents.”

He insisted that trade unions “must challenge the culture that normalizes medical tourism among political and economic elites.”

“OTUWA calls for immediate reforms that lead to transparent health budgeting and public investment in domestic healthcare infrastructure, Regulation and reporting of government-funded overseas medical travel, Inclusive health policies that prioritise access and dignity for all citizens”.

Comrade John concluded that “Healthcare is not a commodity reserved for the wealthy. It is a fundamental human right. If we are to combat poverty, reduce inequality, and preserve democracy in West Africa, we must end the double standard in healthcare and demand systems that serve the many, not just the few”.

Earlier, the Solidarity Center Country Director for West Africa Deddeh Tulay, through its Senior Programme Officer Gabin Ralph, pledged the continuous support of the Center to trade union campaigns on health and democracy  of the region.”