Effective public health system from the grassroots level are important in providing care for the sick and putting in place measures that promote preventive services of diseases.
The Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Union Presidential running mate Samia Suluhu Hassan has been very vocal during her election campaigns that she will strive to ensure there are better health systems in the country from grassroots levels that will improve health services in the country, if her political party is elected to form the next government in the October 25th general elections.
Armed with the political party’s election manifesto, Samia says the health sector will be among her priority areas where she wants to see patients receive proper health care that they deserve, that includes getting drugs from the dispensaries, health centres and hospitals instead of buying them from pharmacies.She explains that her government will put in place a digitised system that will collect and track down procurement and delivery of medicines and medical supplies from the Medical Stores Department (MSD) to designated health institutions to ensure the medical supplies actually reach the intended communities, which will include dispensing of the drugs to patients.
Samia notes corruption which has been rife in the health sector, has resulted in patients having to buy medicines from pharmacies most of which are owned by health practitioners, when they (patients) should be getting them from government dispensaries, health centres or hospitals.
“If elected to take office on October 25th, corrupt heath officials should look for jobs elsewhere because the next government under Dr John Pombe Magufuli and I, will not tolerate them,” she explained.
Samia adds that the election manifesto requires that the fifth phase government build dispensaries in villages, health centres in Wards and hospitals at the district levels to ensure the public is not forced to walk long distances looking for health services.
She adds that the fifth phase government under CCM will focus on Industries to bring economic revolution in the country, but stressed that this will not be achieved if the population, especially those living in rural areas cannot access proper health care from primary health faculties.
As if on cue, recently the Sustainable Development Summit 2015, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, World Bank Group and World Health Organization launched the Primary Health Care Performance Initiative (PHCPI), a new partnership to support low and middle income countries in strengthening their health systems including improving performance of primary health care, seen as critical in preventing next Ebola outbreaks and achieve universal health coverage.
According to a media statement issued by Global Health Strategies, primary health care is the pillar of health systems and is central to preventing epidemics like Ebola; improving women’s and children’s health; controlling major infectious diseases, such as HIV and TB; and managing the rising burden of noncommunicable diseases, such as heart disease and cancer.
The new partnership, will support countries to strengthen monitoring, tracking and sharing of key performance indicators for primary health care. While many countries have identified primary health care as an urgent priority, they lack the data needed to pinpoint weaknesses, understand their causes and drive improvements. This move will augur well with the Union’s presidential running mates plans to strengthen and improve health services from the grassroots level upwards.
Speaking on the same during an interview with United Nations Radio, President Jakaya Kikwete was quoted saying the nations’ objective is to ensure Tanzanian do not walk more than five kilometres seeking health care services. “So this means building more dispensaries in villages, health centres in Wards and district hospitals.
Where these facilities are available, we improve the services, so that people are not forced to go to other areas looking for health services,” he explained. He added that there are about 13,000 villages and nearly 3,000 wards that will need dispensaries and health centre facilities, noting that the sustainable programme to build the health facilities in localities which ends in 2017 will have yielded good results that the country will continue building on.
Indeed, this is what the CCM Union presidential running mate has been advocating for, to ensure the public, especially woman can easily access health services at the villages, wards or district levels.
She has also been promoting and urging the public to join the national health insurance scheme, which will make it possible to access year long health services at a small fee paid only once.
Samia emphasised that with health insurance cover for as little as 10,000/- one is protected against expenditures from unforeseen medical emergencies, especially at a time when cash is not available.
/Daily News.
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