Lusaka, Zambia – A growing pattern of Zambian government officials seeking medical treatment abroad while the nation’s healthcare system crumbles has sparked outrage among citizens and health advocates. The trend highlights a troubling disparity between the privileged access of the political class and the daily struggles of ordinary Zambians to obtain basic medical care.
Concerned citizen Alexander Vomo voiced the frustrations of many, stating: “When our leaders fall ill, they immediately fly to South Africa or India for treatment, yet they expect nurses and doctors to work miracles in our understaffed, underfunded hospitals. This hypocrisy must end.”
The crisis in Zambia’s healthcare system manifests in heartbreaking ways. Mothers give birth in overcrowded wards without proper equipment, cancer patients die waiting for chemotherapy that never arrives, and kidney failure patients miss life-saving dialysis sessions due to broken machines. Meanwhile, public records show millions of kwacha being spent annually to fly officials overseas for medical care.
“This isn’t just about health – it’s about justice,” Vomo continued. “The same politicians who cut ribbons at new hospital wings won’t trust those same hospitals with their lives. What does that tell us about their real commitment to healthcare reform?”
Health professionals report worsening conditions across the country. Dr. Sarah Mwewa, a physician at the University Teaching Hospital, revealed: “We regularly lose patients to conditions that are treatable elsewhere. Our leaders know this reality yet choose to escape it rather than fix it.”
The Ministry of Health maintains that some specialist treatments require overseas referral, but critics note these privileges are rarely extended to ordinary citizens. Transparency advocates demand publication of all medical evacuation expenditures, arguing these funds could transform local facilities if properly invested.
As public anger grows, calls intensify for legislation requiring officials to use Zambian hospitals except when treatment is truly unavailable locally. “We need leaders who believe in our healthcare system enough to use it themselves,” Vomo concluded. “Until then, these medical evacuations will stand as painful symbols of a broken social contract.”
The issue promises to dominate political discourse as Zambia approaches its next election cycle, with opposition parties pledging to make healthcare equity a central campaign issue.
Medical evacuation for the political elite militates against patriotism. It’s like we’ve only had one patriotic president in Super KK, who throughout his political life submitted only to Zambian hospitals till death.
Our hospitals are pathetic. If you are a cancer patient and decide to get therapy here at UTH you will end up dying in queue because it will take you minimum six months to be attended to. You have people who are connected to government getting sponsorship to overseas hospitals while poorly connected citizens have to do with the little or nothing available here.
People must rise up and force government to upgrade our health facilities to acceptable standards. I’m talking from experience not what I hear.
How do you expect those in government to priotise and improve our health services when they enjoy health services from other countries? This is really a colonial setup. It should be a no and part of the delimitation processes in the constitutional amendment. Let them do it from their own pockets and there should a call for private health in investment by out government leaders and not just in our natural resources. Let there just be a provision where the health experts in this country can make that call where they have failed even where the equipment and expertise are there but challenged.
Dr Kaunda wrote in Letter to my children that it us not the person stepping on your foot who will take it off… the Leaders have abused the national resources but where are we when late Dr Chiluba beats up Doctors for asking for equipment ?…Now His wife Vera has to be evacuated.. We are too nice..like the national prayer said “Give WISDOM to our Leaders and a SPIRIT of obedience to our people ” The Dog Driven Constitution will never help us. Let’s demand a people driven Constitution for us to share the National cake
It’s sad and you only realize it when you get cancer. The queue at the UTH is endless. The drugs are not available and where they are available they’re unaffordable. It Dr Kaunda’s time just to get a passport you had justify that what you are looking for was not available in Zambia whether medication or education.
All those old Politicians must move out of government they failed the nation those crooks
I wonder why we cannot support our medical facilities to match what is obtaining outside Zambia where these politicians want to go and die from. We have huge amounts of CDF, can’t we just say the CDF for one year goes into developing /upgrading UTH/LEVY/NDOLA and perhaps Kitwe Hospitals with equipment to service the nation. As long as we have the same recycled people in power, we will be paying bills for them to be evacuated outside Zambia for medical care while we suffer, and no one evacuates us in time of need.
I thought HH was a game changer but it turns out he is even worse…under HH each and every Politician has to be evacuated to a foreign country for medical treatment…shame on you All Politicians and shame on you HH
You cant change the game when all you have been doing is envy those playing it. When you go on the field you just play their game
The only time Politicians work together is when they’re looting and wasting tax payers money….FACT….now Thabo Kawana can fly to South Africa every week for Chemotherapy on Government expense…..and a 5 year old dies of Malaria at UTH
Some of you people who write comments are so ignorant.
Currently, the country only has one Cancer Diseases Hospital at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka. It is not state of the art. Hence people are transferred.
And it’s not only high profile people.
The government is currently building two state of the art cancer hospitals and upgrading the current one to state of the art.
State of art cancer hospitals are not built overnight.
This government has been in office 3 years and 8 months and will soon have 3 state of the art cancer hospitals.
Pretty impressive.
What was Lungu in his years in office doing in regards to this?
Answer- Nothing.
Leka ubufi iwe. Cancer hospital only needs specialized doctors and machines like PET scan, radiotherapy etc. There’s nothing beyond what we can’t achieve. Problem with you people you always want to make the possible impossible. It’s not only ministers who are seeking treatment abroad but also people like you who are connected. I have looked at these hospitals and their equipment and there’s nothing that can stop us having these here.
@ BlackMan
Typical thinking of an African…..defending theft and corruption….thats what we are good at..hero worshiping criminals and thieving Politicians….and unfortunately Mr BlackMan you’re not the only one with that kind of mentality
Now can you imagine how many friends families members of Politicians are being evacuated to foreign countries for treatment……
I am aware that there so citizens who are sent abroad, particularly to India, for treatment. For obvious reasons, their names are not published for confidentiality. If the names were published, you, the same people, will complain that patients are being exposed. The writer of the article has talked from without. We seem to be a nation of complaints, no matter what the Government does.
I concur. The number of ordinary citizens evacuated are more than politicians.Now,
perhaps Anonymous should mention the family members of politicians in his imagination
No politician, VIP, PEP etc should be sent abroad for treatment using government coffers unless they are using their own money. Government should only help by facilitating the documentation that’s all.