The presidents of Nigeria, Angola, Zimbabwe, Benin and Algeria all have something in common - an apparent lack of trust in their nations' health systems. They are leaving behind poorly funded and neglected health services, which most of their citizens have to rely on and seeking expensive medical treatments abroad. Unsurprisingly, no presidential spokesman has come out to say that it is because the health service in general is better overseas.
In 2010, the average amount spent on health in African countries per person was $135 (£100) compared to $3,150 in high-income countries, the UN's World Health Organization said. In many African countries, good private healthcare is available to those with money.
In Mugabe's Zimbabwe, for example, state-run hospitals and clinics often run out of basic medicines like painkillers and antibiotics, according to health watchdog Citizens Health Watch. It says that the public health care system "continues to deteriorate at alarming levels" with lack of money being the main problem. Mugabe makes frequent hospital visits to Singapore.
Nigeria's public health system is "terrible" because of poor funding, says BBC Abuja editor Naziru Mikailu. A health insurance scheme for government workers and some private employees has given some people access to private medicine, but most people have to rely on government-funded services. Nigerian doctor Osahon Enabulele says that the example set by political leaders costs countries millions of dollars. In 2013 he estimated that Nigerians were spending $1bn (£770m) abroad on medical treatment and reckons that figure could have doubled by now. By comparison, the federal government's health budget for 2016 came to $800m. Dr Enabulele, who is vice-president of the Commonwealth Medical Association, says that the money taken out of Nigeria could be invested in the health system at home. "The whole ambition to have state-of-the-art facilities will remain a mirage if people keep going abroad for medical reasons." On top of that, he says, top Nigerian doctors are then enticed abroad looking for the best conditions, exacerbating the situation.
The Angolan government revealed in May that Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who has been president for the last 38 years, had travelled to Spain for health reasons.
Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika travels to a hospital in France for what the government calls "periodic" medical checks.
Benin's President Patrice Talon, 59, travelled to France in June for two operations, one on his prostate and one on his digestive system.
In 2010, the average amount spent on health in African countries per person was $135 (£100) compared to $3,150 in high-income countries, the UN's World Health Organization said. In many African countries, good private healthcare is available to those with money.
In Mugabe's Zimbabwe, for example, state-run hospitals and clinics often run out of basic medicines like painkillers and antibiotics, according to health watchdog Citizens Health Watch. It says that the public health care system "continues to deteriorate at alarming levels" with lack of money being the main problem. Mugabe makes frequent hospital visits to Singapore.
Nigeria's public health system is "terrible" because of poor funding, says BBC Abuja editor Naziru Mikailu. A health insurance scheme for government workers and some private employees has given some people access to private medicine, but most people have to rely on government-funded services. Nigerian doctor Osahon Enabulele says that the example set by political leaders costs countries millions of dollars. In 2013 he estimated that Nigerians were spending $1bn (£770m) abroad on medical treatment and reckons that figure could have doubled by now. By comparison, the federal government's health budget for 2016 came to $800m. Dr Enabulele, who is vice-president of the Commonwealth Medical Association, says that the money taken out of Nigeria could be invested in the health system at home. "The whole ambition to have state-of-the-art facilities will remain a mirage if people keep going abroad for medical reasons." On top of that, he says, top Nigerian doctors are then enticed abroad looking for the best conditions, exacerbating the situation.
The Angolan government revealed in May that Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who has been president for the last 38 years, had travelled to Spain for health reasons.
Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika travels to a hospital in France for what the government calls "periodic" medical checks.
Benin's President Patrice Talon, 59, travelled to France in June for two operations, one on his prostate and one on his digestive system.
Sudan President Omar al-Bashir had "an exploratory cardiac catheterisation" at a hospital in the capital, Khartoum. It was, however, a private hospital, not a state one.
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