IMPROVING the primary health sector is vital to push towards attaining universal health coverage (UHC), the government has affirmed.

Dr Doto Biteko, the deputy prime minister and Energy minister, made this observation when launching the International Primary Health Care Conference 2024 (IPHC 2024) in the capital yesterday, where it will discuss “primary health care as a vehicle to achieve universal health coverage.”

Standing in for President Samia Suluhu Hassan, the DPM said the government was sourcing funds to uplift delivering capacity in primary health care establishments.

"There is no way we can attain universal health coverage if we will not work to strengthen our primary health care services," he stated, illustrating expenditure on primary care and other medical facilities.

The government had so far allocated 937.2bn/- for uplifting key infrastructure at various health centres, together with 364.7bn/- to procure various cloud-connected medical facilities, which shows commitment in heightening performance in the health sector.

So far a total of 52bn/- has been spent to purchase 528 vehicles serving patients at various medical facilities, he said, raising alarm on the global economic melting down propelling the prevalence of various diseases.

He urged patient conduct with the health sector workforce to boost their working morale, while cautioning against tendencies among some of them to violate ethical demands of their profession.

Dr Festo Dugange, the Regional Administration and Local Governments deputy minister in the President’s Office, said that 6,933 healthcare centres currently offer services as primary health care, with 26.9m patients across the country attending to the centres.

Dr Godwin Mollel, his Health counterpart, hailed President Samia for seeking out financing for elevating infrastructure, treatment facilities and service delivery requirements across the country.

The health sector has been injected with 6.7trn/- that has enabled carrying out changes to improve facilities in various hospitals, he said, pointing out that the country is receiving larger numbers of patients from neighbouring countries.

There was need for further improving primary healthcare services as 74 percent of local the population depend on primary health care facilities, he said, while

Irene Isaka, the director of social sectors in the East African Community (EAC) secretariat, said the conference is a clear message on the way to attain UHC by strengthening primary healthcare.

Dr Fedjo Gilbert, an expert with the World Health Organization (WHO), urged the forum participants to focus on how to improve mobile health services, empowering community health workers, as viable ways to amplify primary health care.

Attaining UHC demands working around the clock in preventing diseases at family level, setting an equitable health system enabling healthcare services to all citizens.