One of the leading global medical travel agencies, Medivisor India Treatment has extended its footprint to Malawi, offering tailor-made logistical support to those seeking medical attention in India.
This comes at a time Malawi is recording increasing cases of non-communicable diseases, including heart diseases, cancer, kidney failure and orthopaedic conditions that need special treatment abroad, with most cases referred to India.
In an interview in Lilongwe on Wednesday, Medivisor India Treatment medical director Dr. Jatinder Kumar said apart from travel arrangements, they assist in negotiating discounts with hospitals, monitoring bills, accommodation, among others, for international patients who are mostly isolated.
According to Kumar, this is critical because although there are many big hospitals operating international patients departments in India, they are often overstretched; hence such patients likely end up undergoing investigations that may not be medically essential, leading to higher costs and confusion.
Kumar said: “Medivisor ensures seamless support from start to finish from the moment the patient arrives in India to the time they return home.
“It facilitates fast-tracked hospital appointments and priority diagnostics, monitoring and verification of medical bills, coordination for second and third medical opinions and full support outside the hospital, including logistics, accommodation and local services, among others.”
Medivisor India Treatment medical counsellor Dr. Harman Cheema said the agency has so far facilitated 2 000 patients who have been treated in India and currently is expanding its reach in Africa including Malawi.
“As Medivisor celebrates this 2,000-patient milestone, it continues to grow its mission—building stronger partnerships with healthcare providers, governments, and insurers, and constantly innovating to make international healthcare more accessible, affordable, and human-centred,” she said.
In a separate interview, a health expert Professor Maureen Chirwa described the initiative as helpful to patients who might lack guardians because of financial constraints as well as general assistance while staying in India.
“I think the initiative is important because during such referrals, sometimes patients may need logistical support, and in some instances, their help could enable patients to get appropriate treatment at reasonable costs,” she said.
Most eastern and southern African countries rely on South Africa’s hospitals on such non-communicable diseases but in recent years India has become the most preferred due to its lower costs and its robotic surgeries, organic transplants and targeted cancer therapies.
In Malawi, non-communicable diseases account for 32 percent of all deaths according to Ministry of Health data.
