Industrialising health sector needs dialogue, say experts

Dar es Salaam. Healthcare industrialisation can make Tanzania a medical tourism hub and improve quality of medical services if stakeholders are keen on setting the right strategies and creating an enabling environment for investment, players say.

Speaking during a press briefing ahead of the Tanzania Health Summit (THS), which is due in November, health stakeholders urged policy makers to begin analysing challenges associated with industrialisation which are likely to arise in the healthcare industry.

The director of Health, Social Welfare and Nutrition Services (DHSWNS) in the President’s Office, Dr Ntuli Kapologwe, said all actors in Tanzania’s healthcare industry must now take healthcare industrialisation seriously in order to tap into its opportunities.

“This will make the Tanzanian health sector strong and vibrant and will create enabling environment towards becoming the region’s medical tourism hub. No one will make this happen except you and me,’’ noted Dr Kapologwe.

For many years now, the health sector in Tanzania has been going through industrialisation. However, the stage was not yet set yet to evaluate how the process can better be achieved, the challenges it’s currently facing and how to mitigate risks. THS president Omary Chillo said various private and public institutions in the country have now to zero-in on the challenges likely to face the health sector as Tanzania strives to build a middle income economy through industrialization.

Dr Chillo said the forthcoming Tanzania Health Summit, which is inspired by the theme: Tanzania Health Sector Industrialisation. Progress Review and Unlocking Persistent Challenges, is geared at setting a platform for over 1000 stakeholders in healthcare to ponder the country’s direction in industrialisation.

“Take this example, the pharmaceutical industry has been poorly progressing since 1962 when healthcare industrialisation per se began in Tanzania. By now, it does not meet the national demand. What have we achieved so far in reviving this industry? How do we move from here? That’s what this year’s summit is all about,’’ added Dr Chillo. The chief executive officer of the Association of Private Health Facilities of Tanzania (APHTA), Dr Samwel Ogillo, said it was an opportune moment to focus on industrialisation because it’s one of the crucial steps in achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

For his part, the chairman of THS, Dr Chakou Halfani, said the government has so far made some efforts to address the challenges associated with industrialisation, including fast-tracking licensing and registration process, introduction of single processing centre.

“But you may agree with me that, there are still some pending matters that once sorted, we will be on track regarding what we want to achieve as a country,” he said.

It’s my belief that through public private dialogue, we will move far and achieve what every one of us wishes to,” the noted.