The government yesterday appealed to the private sector to share a huge burden of the national health problems through training of competent human resources.
Prof David Mwakyusa, the Health and Social Welfare Minister said the country faces shortage of health experts and the government alone cannot make it.
’The doctors/patient and nurse/patient ratio is not impressive,’ said Mwakyusa during the public introduction of Aga Khan University programmes in a speech read on his behalf by the ministry’s Acting Director of Human Resources, Amos Mwakilasa.
He said the shortage of qualified and skilled health professionals, uneven distribution of health care facilities and the distance from one health facility to another, persisting poverty, high maternal and infant mortality rates, malaria and tuberculosis are serious burdens which needed joint forces.
’HIV/Aids represents an unprecedented threat to the country’s socio-economic development,’ he added.
’I don’t think the government can overcome such a huge burden, we need to strengthen private-public partnerships by training more qualified and competent experts to counter these problems,’ said the minister.
Officials said training of 26,000 nurses would take 100 years under the current system. Mwakyusa proposed to the private institutions to adopt modernised training programmes to produce more professionals in a short span of time.
’But by using innovative electronic learning system, institutions can target to train the same number in just five years,’ said Mwakyusa.
He said the government wants training institutions to embark on research, high quality of care and utilisation of modern information technologies.
The minister called on health institutions and universities to demonstrate a high level of commitment in developing competence of health workers ? nurses and post-graduate medical practitioners.
Information obtained by this paper show most of the nurses in Tanzania were trained as enrolled nurses with few of them holding diplomas.
’By upgrading the skills of nurses and improving the quality of care with strong nursing leadership, the Advanced Nursing Programmes (ANPs) will strengthen health system in Tanzania,’ said the minister.
The move, he said, will ultimately improve the wellbeing of Tanzanians.
He hailed Aga Khan University for its commitment to introducing programmes that could improve standards of nurses and plans to reach out more nurses through distance learning programmes.
According to the minister the government is currently seeking for highly skilled health professionals to meet the challenges of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), vision 2025 and smooth implementation of health sector reforms.
Research studies show that an increase in the number of competent health care professionals improves the quality of health care and thus decrease mortality rates.
On his part, the Aga Khan University Principal, Khairunnisa Dhamani, said the institution targets to design programmes that could prepare nurses to meet critical challenges in the health systems across the East African region.
She said many nurses caring for patients often face life-threatening, emergency situations and find themselves insufficiently prepared.
The official added: the university programmes also offer unique opportunities for nurses in the region to obtain higher professional qualifications without leaving their workplace for extended periods.
