Tanzania has spent 52.06 billion/- in the procurement of 528 vehicles that are soon to be dispatched into the provision of Primary Medical Services in the country.
The minister of State in the President’s Office in-charge of Regional Administration and Local Government, Angela Kairuki revealed here that 316 such vehicles are ambulances while 212 other cars will be commissioned for supervisory duties.
“We have taken into consideration the geographical landscape of our country as well as problems faced in remote precincts where roads are some of the challenges in outreach health programs,” stated Minister Kairuki.
She explained that each region and district council will get a vehicle to undertake primary health services and already the first consignment of such cars has been shipped to the Dar-es-salaam Port.
The vehicles have been purchased by funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s Covid-19 Response Emergency Support to Tanzania.
Previously the government had spent 1.65 billion/- in purchasing a total of 517 motorcycles whose distribution to local councils started in September 2022.
Meanwhile, the deputy permanent secretary in the President’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government Dr Wilson Mahera Charles, said Tanzania is also investing over 950 billion/- in the construction of new hospitals, dispensaries and health centers across the nation.
Dr Mahera added that the country intends to spend 200 billion/- of the same in the procurement of medical equipment and supplies.
Both the Minister and the Permanent Secretary were addressing delegations of health workers and officials from 184 District Councils meeting in Arusha.
The delegates include the Regional and District Medical Officers, PRO-RALG officials as well as the coordinators of HIV-Aids programs undergoing a working training workshop taking place at the Mount Meru Hotel’s Conference Hall in Arusha.
Organized by the Ministry of Health through the Health Promotion and System Strengthening (HPSS), the sessions are meant to review the executions of medical-oriented projects being undertaken nationwide through the Global Fund Programs.
There was also the introduction of the Prime Vendor System which is a complementary procurement pathway for continuous medicine supply initiated through the Health Promotion and System Strengthening.
The Health Promotion and System Strengthening (HPSS), is a people-centered project that follows a comprehensive systems approach in developing innovative solutions and supporting their integration into national institutions, systems and policies.
Working in partnership with the Government the HPSS project strives to improve access to, utilization and quality of health services in Tanzania.
It was also revealed that Tanzania dedicated nearly 70 billion/- in the fiscal year 2022/2023 for medical equipment and supplies and that until January 2023 a total of 33.15 billion/- had already been disbursed to Regional Governments to that effect.