Tanzania wants East Africa’s Center of Excellence in Transplant and Hematological Sciences built in Dodoma
Tanzania is requesting the East African Community to establish the Regional Centre of Excellence in Transplant and Hematological Sciences, in Dodoma.
The Arusha-based East African Community Secretariat informed the Regional Sectoral Council of Ministers of Health that Tanzania had submitted an official request to the EAC Secretary General on 16th April 2024.
Dar wants to table a Concept Note for the establishment of the EAC Regional Centre of Excellence in Transplant and Hematological Sciences to be hosted at the Benjamin Mkapa Hospital in Dodoma.
The proposed Centre of Excellence would significantly reduce morbidity and mortality resulting from hematological complications and indirectly improve the health outcomes of EAC populations.
The Sectoral Council directed the Secretariat in collaboration with Partner States to convene national consultations to generate inputs into the concept notes for establishment of the two proposed Centres of Excellence in Transplant and Hematological Science in Tanzania ahead of the forthcoming consideration meeting in June.
The 24th Ordinary Meeting of the EAC Sectoral Council held in Dar es Salaam, has on the other hand approved the six-year EAC Cross-Border Health Advocacy and Communication Strategy (2024-2030).
The strategy is aimed at facilitating faster domestication and implementation of health directives, policies and programs by enhancing the effectiveness of communication between the EAC Secretariat and Partner States.
Furthermore, the strategy will support strengthening and leveraging partnerships at national, regional and global levels for improved accountability and transparency by stakeholders.
The strategy, among other things, focuses on the execution of directives through enhancing awareness, information sharing and knowledge dissemination of the directives and policies from the EAC health sector to Partner States health policy makers; and increasing access to health services among target populations.
The EAC Secretariat informed the Sectoral Council that the Secretariat in collaboration with Partner States had developed the 6th EAC Regional Health Scorecard in digital form as an innovative tool for communicating and monitoring the status of progress to implementers, stakeholders, and decision-makers in the region.
The Ministers also approved the digital version of the 6th EAC Regional Health Scorecard for tracking regional progress on implementing global and regional commitments against agreed-upon indicators and directed the Secretariat to mobilize resources to support the Partner States’ digitalization of National Health Scorecards and build data governance and digital innovation capacity.
The Sectoral Council was informed that the EAC Partner States together with the Secretariat developed the EAC Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) strategic Framework 2024-2030, in line with previous directives of the Sectoral Council respectively was to reduce the premature mortality due to NCDs by 20 percent, by 2030.
The Sectoral Council further resolved that the EAC Secretariat should mobilize resources and recruit a Senior One Health Expert to coordinate the One Health Unit.
South Sudan envoy to Tanzania, Johnson Jumqa Okot, representing the Minister of Health in South Sudan, said the region still faces challenges of disease outbreaks, global climate changes and its consequences.
Also present at the meeting was the Tanzanian Minister of health, Ummy Mwalimu, Burundi Minister of Public Health Dr Lydwine Baradahana, Rwanda Minister of State for Health, Dr Yvan Butera, Rwanda; and Ugandan Health Minister Hanifa Kawooya Bangirana.