President Benjamin Mkapa yesterday called upon Tanzanians to take primary healthcare seriously to enable the government to save on the cost of treating preventable diseases.
In a brief speech during the handing over of a project for the Rehabilitation of Diagnostic Services to the Ministry of Health in Mwanza, the President said healthcare costs incurred by households could also come substantially down if wananchi took prevention seriously.
“We can’t raise our life expectancy without controlling diseases and the only way to control them is by prevention.
Prevention of diseases can help us reduce the high costs we incur in search of treatment.
In addition, our economy cannot grow if we do not reduce the costs of treatment, ” he said.
President Mkapa thanked the Netherlands government for its assistance in the war against poverty and diseases.
He said Tanzania benefits the most in Africa from aid from the Netherlands.
“Today, we witness evidence of our good relationship.
I thank the government of Netherlands for this commendable relationship. You have been co-operating with us in the war against poverty and diseases,” he said.
Deputy Minister for Health Dr. Hussein Mwinyi said that the project, Overseas Related Export Trade (ORET) that started in 1999, had been implemented in three phases in 20 regions.
At least 98 districts, regional and referral hospitals had benefited from the programme, he said.
He explained that under the project, Philips Medical Systems from Netherlands was contracted to modernise healthcare systems through the rehabilitation of diagnostic services by installing new equipment, providing training to relevant medical practitioners and renovation.
Dr. Mwinyi noted that the equipment installed included X-rays, autoclaves, operating tables, operating lamp units, ultrasounds and oxygen concentrators.
He added that over 400 radiographers, radiologists, doctors, lab technicians, assistant medical officers, clinical officers, nurses and engineers and technicians had been trained under the programme.
The deputy minister further said the government would maintain the installed equipment under the project and that in the next 2005/2006 budget, the ministry of health would set aside funds for maintenance.
The Royal Netherlands ambassador to Tanzania, Dr. Bernard Brendsen, said that the ORET project cost about US$ 30m/- out of which the Netherlands government provided US$ 17.7m/- and the government of Tanzania donated US$11.8m/-.
He added that the programme, which will end in December this year, had built the infrastructure at all levels capable of providing the healthcare needs of the people in the country.
“The end of the programme does not mean that the task is over.
The infrastructure and the services have to be sustained, and even improved through refresher training programmes,” he said.
