Medical treatment in India for patients from Somalia

India is one of the two destinations we arrange most often for patients travelling from Somalia. It has deep capacity in the areas Somali families most frequently need — cardiac surgery, oncology, transplantation, orthopaedics, neurosurgery and fertility treatment — and we process medical visas at the Indian embassy as part of the service.

This page explains what travelling to India for treatment actually involves when Akabir Health coordinates it.

Which conditions we most often send to India

We choose the country by the case, not the other way round. The specialities where Indian hospitals in our network are most frequently the right answer include:

• Cardiac care — angiography, angioplasty and stents, bypass surgery including beating-heart technique, and valve replacement
• Cancer treatment — diagnosis and staging, surgical oncology, chemotherapy and radiotherapy
• Transplantation — kidney, liver and bone marrow transplantation, with donor assessment
• Orthopaedics — knee and hip replacement, revision surgery, trauma and spinal work
• Neurosurgery — brain and spinal procedures, supported by neuro-intensive care
• Fertility treatment — IVF and ICSI
• Eye care — cataract surgery and retinal treatment

If your condition is not on this list, send it anyway. Our medical team will tell you which department fits and whether India or another destination suits your case better.

The medical visa

A medical visa is not an ordinary tourist visa, and it cannot be applied for properly without documentation from the treating hospital.

We obtain the letter of invitation from the hospital once your case has been reviewed and a treatment plan agreed, and then process the visa at the Indian embassy. Where a family member is travelling as an attendant, that application is handled alongside yours.

Full detail on medical visa assistance

What you will need

Every case is different, but in practice the strongest applications are the ones where the patient has gathered their medical history in advance:

• A passport with sufficient remaining validity
• Your diagnosis and any specialist reports
• Discharge summaries from previous admissions
• Scan images and the radiologist's reports, not just the pictures
• Recent laboratory results
• A list of current medication
• Details of anyone travelling with you

The full document checklist

What the quotation covers

The figure we send you is for the whole trip, not only the procedure: treatment, accommodation, assistance and transfers, in one number. It is prepared after our doctors have read your file and the hospital has responded — which is why we do not quote prices over the phone before seeing anything.

Costs in India vary by procedure, by hospital, by how long you stay and by whether complications extend the admission. We will not invent a figure for you, and we will tell you plainly if the range is likely to be beyond what your family has described. What affects the cost.

Arriving in India

A personal assistant supplied by Akabir Health meets you at the airport and accompanies you to the hospital. They interpret at your appointments, and stay in contact with our medical team here throughout your admission. After treatment, during the convalescence period, you stay at the hotel arranged as part of your package until the attending physician is satisfied you are fit to travel.

Going home

Your return is organised once the medical management team and your attending physician have approved the final reports. Your assistant accompanies you to the airport. Your file stays with us, confidentially, so that any follow-up question after you are home reaches people who already know your case.

India or Turkey?

Both are good options and the honest answer depends on the diagnosis. We have written a plain comparison: India or Turkey for treatment from Somalia.

Start with a question

Send us the diagnosis and whatever reports you have. There is no charge for a quotation, and no obligation to travel.