ARSO Committee urged to observe quality standards guidelines
DAR ES SALAAM: AFRICAN Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) Technical Management Committee on health services has been urged to observe all the guidelines on preparing standards that will boost African economies.
This was said by the Ministry of Industry and Trade Business Director, Mr Sempeho Manongi when opening the ARSO Technical Management Committee meeting where Tanzania through the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) is part of the committee.
“The committee members should take an active part in the discussions so as to improve health services standards to ensure that people have access to quality health services in the continent,” he said.
The participants from 11 African countries are taking part in the ARSO Technical and Management Committee meeting in Dar es Salaam that commenced yesterday and will be concluded tomorrow.
Mr Manongi said the committee meets to prepare, discuss and improve standards of health services to protect health, environment and safety of the continent.
He said consumers of health products and services are the main producers and services providers of health services and therefore have a huge contribution to the African economies.
“Harmonisation of the African standards will spur businesses among countries without barriers and thus penetrating huge global markets,” he said.
He said globally, the role of producers and service providers has been critical in boosting economic growth as well as in job creation.
Therefore, observing consumers’ safety through standards will identify quality products and safe for use.
He said the initiative will reduce the effects of products and services which are below the required standards.
On his part, the TBS Director General Dr Yusuf Ngenya said the meeting is of paramount importance for setting and improving health sector standards in the continent.
He thanked ARSO and experts from various African countries for taking part in the meeting with the ultimate goal of improving health services standards in the continent.
“We have an obligation to make huge changes in the life of the people through standards reflected in the quality health services,” he said.
He added, “We face many challenges related to issues of quality, safety and availability of health services in the continent.”
The experts have the primary objective to ensure that strong standards systems are put in place as a way to address the challenges facing health services delivery.
The experts are expected to come up with one proposition on how to enact health services standards in the continent.
