Public, private sector in focus as Tanzania Health Summit unveils new board members
What you need to know:
The new THS board is expected to be an oversight body that will supervise accountability by ensuring checks and balances among key players in healthcare development.
Dar es Salaam. Key government leaders and investors in the health sector are in November expected to evaluate what Tanzania has invested in areas of health policy and healthcare development over the past three years.
The Director of Health Services in President's Office Regional Administration and Local Government Dr Ntuli Kapologwe said on Friday August 2 that in November this year, it will be an opportunity to set a roadmap for the country’s future in healthcare during Tanzania Health Summit (THS) which will take place in Dodoma.
Dr Kapologwe spoke to The Citizen on the sidelines of an event in Dar es Salaam to inaugurate the new Board Members of THS. He said the summit, to be inspired by the theme: “Public and Private Health Systems Improvement in Tanzania: 2015 – 2019, Efficiency and Impact” comes at a time when the government is putting more emphasis in health and wellbeing.
In a short analysis, said the government has invested efforts in improving Human Resource for Health (HRH) by employing a total of 12,450 health workers of various capacities and constructing a total of 470 health facilities since 2017.
"This is a huge milestone for our country since independence, but we will sit down together and evaluate the outcomes of this investment and set a new direction for further improvement,’’ he said.
The new THS board is expected to be an oversight body that will supervise accountability by ensuring checks and balances among key players in healthcare development.
The focus of the summit, under the leadership of the new board, will be on leadership and governance, health service delivery, health funding and insurance availability of drugs among others.
THS President Dr Omari Chillo said the summit started over five years ago with an organization committee that aimed to bring together health personnel from both the public and private sectors.
He noted that the summit aimed at discussing challenges in the health sector and bridging the information gap reaching the public.
So far, he said, THS has established a dialogue for addressing Non-Communicable Diseases through an annual event known as Heart Marathon, among other things.
