Govt to buy 3 DNA testing machines

The government is planning to procure three new DNA machines--devices that test genetic information--to scale up Tanzania’s paternity sample cases.

This move is aimed at curbing increased spate of humiliation among women in the country.

The deputy minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Dr Hamisi Kigwangalla, yesterday told Parliament that the number of men who disown pregnancies and children they father was growing at an alarming rate.

He was responding to a question from Mr Ussi Pondeza (CCM-Chumbani) who wanted to know plans by the State to increase availability of the crucial devices in the country.

In his question, the lawmaker pointed out that DNA results done in the country were taking long to release at the national hospital. He, therefore, wanted to know efforts being done by the government to increase the number of the DNA machines so as to spur provision of the said crucial machines in the country.

In his response, Dr Kigwangalla said paternity case samples in the country were processed faster than criminal case samples were in the country.

“Paternity samples are taken directly from direct samples, but criminal cases files are taken from diverse crime scenes,” Dr Kigwangwalla explained.

He said investigations over relevant criminal cases took much longer.

However, he said further that the legitimacy over children’s DNA and all of the relevant criminal cases was performed at the laboratory of the government chemistry.