Private sector told to invest in healthcare

Arusha. The private sector has been implored to invest in healthcare in order to complement the government’s efforts of improving delivery of services in the sector.

“The door is open to the private sector to invest in health services,” declared the deputy minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, the Elderly and Children, Dr Faustine Ndugulile.

He made the appeal here on Saturday when he officially inaugurated a $3 million maternity hospital constructed through Maternity Africa, a US-supported outfit.

Dr Ndugulile said the government policies were clear on how to partner with the private sector in health services investment, noting that both foreign and local investors were welcome.

He added the health sector was still facing many challenges, including shortfalls in maternity services, noting that majority of pregnant women do not attend antenatal clinics regularly.

The Kivulini Maternity Centre, as the facility is called, is located at Burka coffee estate along the Dodoma road on the outskirts of Arusha.

Speaking during the opening ceremony, Dr Andrew Browning, the founder of Maternity Africa, pledged to work in collaboration with the government in order to address the challenges facing the health sector.

Mr Browning added that he was aware many expectant mothers in Tanzania delivered in homes and do not attend clinics regularly.

Prof Wilfred Mlay, the board chairman of the newly-unveiled centre, said treatment and other medical services would be offered free of charge.

Projections are that at least 250 caesarean deliveries, also known as C-section, would be performed at the facility each year.

Treatment of fistula, a condition occasioned by two hollow organs, would also be treated at the Kivulini Maternity Centre, he explained.

Arusha Urban MP (Chadema) Godbless Lema said he was among those who initiated construction of the facility when he was elected the lawmaker in 2010.