Some 116 patients suffering from non communicable diseases travelled to India between January and March this year in search of medical treatment, data from the Health ministry shows.
Cancer patients made up 57.8 per cent, 16.8 per cent sought renal disease treatment, 7.8 per cent sought treatment for cardiovascular disease while skeletal disorders accounted for 3.4 per cent.
The data also shows that more men travelled abroad for treatment (54 per cent), compared to women at 46 per cent.
Elkana Onguti, chief economist at the ministry, attributed this to the health seeking behavior of both genders.
"Our data shows that women are more likely to go for medical screenings unlike men who sometimes opt to wait until the condition worsens," he said on Monday.
"The numbers could be more than this because some patients come up with other ways of travelling abroad in search of treatment."
He spoke during a conference on medical and health tourism in Nairobi.
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The ministry found that 55 per cent of those seeking treatment abroad are aged between 41 and 60 years, while 19 per cent are aged between 31 and 40 years.
Those below 30 years accounted for seven per cent.
Mary Wangai, from the Standards and Quality Assurance department at the MoH, said patients seeking treatment outside the country require approval from the government.
They fill out a form with their details and give valid reasons for seeking treatment out of the country.
"If the patient states they are going to undergo, for instance, a caesarian section in India, we decline because we have so many hospitals in the country offering that type of service," Wangai said.
"Others apply for normal visas, which makes it harder for the government to establish the number of people travelling outside for medical purposes," she added.
In 2015, the ministry found that 40 per cent of those who travelled overseas for treatment had renal diseases.
They found that 21.2 per cent had cancer, 11.8 per cent had a spinal disease, 5.6 per cent had join and bone diseases, 1.9 per cent had connective tissue disorders, while 1.6 per cent has peripheral vascular disorders.
Lack of enough specialists and specialised medical equipment, long waiting periods especially for cancer treatment and kidney transplants and the high cost of treatment are among reasons given by patients for seeking treatment abroad.
Approximately 10,000 Kenyans travel abroad annually in search of medical treatment and end up spending at least Sh10 billion in the same period.
“We need to stop sending our patients to other countries but instead look at ways to improve our health sector so we can attract both local and international people in need of treatment,” said Amit Thakker, CEO of the Kenya Healthcare Foundation.
The government is planning a framework to tap into the medical tourism market with the aim of making Kenya the preferred health destination not only in Africa but also globally.
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