Dar es Salaam. Tanzania is estimated to have over 5,000 qualified medical graduates who are unemployed, despite the fact that the country also faces shortages of healthcare professionals.
The country has invested approximately Sh450 billion in their education, but with a significant number of graduates unable to secure jobs, a critical question remains: Which medical specialities are the most marketable, offering greater employment prospects for future professionals?
According to the budget speech delivered by the former Minister of Health, Ummy Mwalimu, in the estimates for the 2024/25 financial year, Tanzania faces a severe shortage of healthcare workers.
As of March 2024, the health sector had a total of 126,925 healthcare workers, equivalent to 57.9 percent of the 219,061 workers required in accordance with the staffing norms.
However, she said, due to the increase in healthcare delivery centres, the expansion of specialised and super-specialised medical services, and the extension of healthcare services at health centres by introducing emergency obstetric surgery for pregnant women (CEmONC), as well as Emergency Medicine Departments (EMD) and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) services, the current actual demand for healthcare workers stands at 348,923, resulting in a 64 percent deficit.
To gain insights into which medical disciplines offer the best employment prospects, The Citizen conducted a survey and spoke to health experts.
Based on their feedback and available data, the following specialities are in high demand: Dermatology, plastic surgery, gynaecology, embryology, geriatrics, doctor of dental surgery, cardiology, anaesthesiology, pharmacy, and obstetrics
Dr Paul Lawala, Director of the Mirembe National Mental Health Hospital, stated that while there is a need across all medical fields, mental health specialists and gynaecologists are particularly in demand due to a shortage of services in these areas.
According to the director of human resources development at the ministry of Health, Dr Saitori Laizer, Tanzania urgently needs more cardiologists.
The country currently has only 42 out of the required 257, leaving a shortfall of 215 cardiologists.
The rise in non-communicable diseases, which are among the top ten causes of outpatient visits, hospitalisations, and deaths, has contributed to this shortage.
Similarly, dental surgeons are in short supply, with Tanzania needing 975, but only 379 are available, creating a gap of 596.
For geriatric specialists, there is a need for 61, but only 12 are available, leaving a shortfall of 49 experts.
In the embryology field, there are no recorded data on the number of professionals, signalling a critical gap in this speciality, which focuses on the development of babies from fertilisation to birth.
Regarding obstetricians and gynaecologists, Tanzania requires 582 specialists, but only 474 are available, resulting in a gap of 108 experts.
Dermatologists are also in high demand, with a need for 70, but only 52 are available, creating a gap of 19.
The ministry of Health data reveals the need for 3,507 specialists in these fields, yet only 1,746 are available, leaving a shortfall of 1,761.
For anaesthesiologists, the country requires 184, but only 84 are available, creating a gap of 100 experts.
Plastic surgeons are similarly scarce, with only 8 out of the required 14 available, resulting in a gap of 6.
The increasing number of health facilities offering comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care (CEmONC), as well as those capable of managing surgical cases, has heightened the demand for anaesthesiologists.
According to the Ministry of Health, other medical courses with low supply and high demand include emergency medicine, rehabilitation services, psychiatry and mental health, neurosurgery and neurology, neonatology, occupational therapy, radiology and anatomical pathology.
In a recent meeting with health stakeholders discussing Tanzania’s National Development Vision 20250, managing director of Benjamin Mkapa Hospital, Prof Abel Makubi, emphasised that employment within the health sector remains a major challenge.
He pointed out that more than 3,000 doctors and 25,000 nurses are currently unemployed in the country, underscoring the need for targeted strategies to address this issue.
As the country continues to face a healthcare workforce shortage, it is clear that certain medical disciplines are poised for greater demand in the coming years.
Graduates specialising in these areas may have a distinct advantage in securing employment as the healthcare sector evolves to meet the country’s needs.
