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Belittling health sector decried
2007-01-21 10:38:46
By Correspondent Beatrice Philemon
Health is among the sectors in Tanzania which have been identified as being focal in the poverty reduction initiatives.
However, the number of qualified staff in the sector is still small compared with other countries in Africa.
Youth Action Volunteers Programme Assistant Pelagia Kijuu, said so in Dar es Salaam this week during a training session on capacity building on public expenditure tracking, advocacy and lobbying for ward Assistant Executive Officers and Street Development Committees held in the city.
``A research carried out recently by different people engaged in the health sector indicates that Kinondoni Municipal Council has a shortage of qualified staff which includes nurses and doctors,`` she said.
According to her, in order to improve the health sector in the country, there was a need for the central Government to allocate more funds to the sector for recruiting qualified health staff that would ensure high quality services that meet acceptable standards.
She further remarked: ``Also as we continue to make efforts in a bid to alleviate poverty in our communities, let us encourage parents to mobilize their children to pursue science subjects so that we can increase the number of qualified staff in the sector.``
Elaborating on public expenditure tracking for health sector, she said, government leaders have a role to encourage local communities to participate in this programme.
``I am saying this because through such participation local communities will get a chance to understand how much funds have been allocated by the central government for improving the health sector in the wards, availability of drugs, supply and provision of quality health services,`` she noted.
According to her, ``We need to educate them on such subjects because they are the ones who handle or receive funds from the central Government.``
Furthermore, she added, there was a need for local communities to understand budget allocation to health facilities because they are ones who use the facilities.
She complained that despite the fact that the health sector was a focal sector for poverty reduction, many strategies and initiatives were understaffed compared to other sectors.
Kijuu also added that in order to improve the health sector and strengthen good governance, the government should translate into actions, the health sector strategic plan, 2003 - 2008 that emphasises the implementations of basic health care interventions.
She explained that such interventions would help the country strengthen immunization programmes, improve the availability of drugs, supply and provision of quality health services and the establishment of health service boards.
According to her, the core function of the establishment of the health service board is to ensure provision of quality health services to the citizen, to allocate available resources according to the needs at all levels of services, and to review and assist on preparation of the council health plans by ensuring community participation.
Others include to receive, review and analyze council implementation reports from the health service committees and to collect and initiate mechanism for securing additional resources for provision of health services in the council.
``This is the reason why we have decided to train you on such programmes because we need you to ensure provision of quality health services offered to your local communities meet the needs,`` she said.
The leaders, she said, are obliged to ensure that their local communities in their wards receive high quality health services and at the same time ensure availability of resources in accordance with the needs at all levels of services.
She said that in order to improve good governance in health sector, provision of high quality health services should be given first priority.
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