Rwanda Military Hospital, Kanombe, has very ambitious plans; becoming a medical centre of excellence to rival any.

The government invested a lot in training doctors among them many military officers who today are among the top specialists in many fields, especially cancer and surgeries of all kinds. Today, it is slowly becoming the hospital of choice and many of its doctors are consulted by other hospitals.

Unlike in other countries where private hospitals give better healthcare than government institutions, in Rwanda it has been slow to take off except for a couple or so, even then, whose services are limited.

This is one area where the private sector needs to explore. Medical tourism is the next big thing, but it needs a lot of investments. Apart from the Maghreb, South Africa and Kenya, advanced healthcare on the continent is not something to write home about.

In midst of this medical vacuum, India has come out the winner. Hundreds of thousands of patients from around the world flock Indian hospitals in droves seeking affordable and advanced healthcare. Between 2015 and 2016, India received 460,000 international patients translating into $3 billion a year. That figure is projected to increase to as much as $8 billion.

So, can Rwanda get a piece of the pie? Why not?

One does not need to be a doctor to build a hospital. It needs money and qualified staff and those can be outsourced. So, what is our private sector doing about it? Has the Private Sector Federation looked into this docket that seems to be isolated and neglected?

Kanombe, Butaro, King Faisal as well as the University Teaching hospitals should not carry the weight alone; they need a push from private entrepreneurs as medical tourism is the next frontier to conquer.