Govt calls for use of data, policy briefs in health

DAR ES SALAAM: HEALTH service providers have been encouraged to prioritise use of data and policy briefs as essential tools to support the government in making informed decisions for the health sector.

To achieve the goal, the government, through the ministries of Health and the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government – PO-RALG), has made special efforts to implement various interventions aimed at building the capacity of service providers and improving delivery of health services across the country.

This was revealed in Dar es Salaam on Thursday during a training session on health data processing and policy brief development, which brought together experts from the Ministry of Health and the PO-RALG from various parts of the country.

A representative from PO-RALG, Mr Ally Kananika said that the government is investing in building the capacity of health service providers and experts to enhance the use of data.

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“The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the President’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government, has organised this training to enable experts to prepare policy briefs that will empower health workers and experts to process data at health facilities. This data will help to indicate the direction of the health sector,” said Mr Kananika.

On his part, the Coordinator of the Training funded by the CDC Foundation, Dr Julius Masaka, said that the goal is to develop experts equipped with the skills to process data and prepare policy briefs that will help address challenges in the health sector in the country.

“During this period, we have conducted three training sessions involving more than 30 participants from various regions in the country, preparing them to become trainers in their respective workplaces,” said Dr Masaka.

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Speaking on behalf of the training beneficiaries, Dr Calvis Ndato said the training has become a guiding tool that will enable them to develop various health policies to address community health challenges.

The training on health data processing and policy brief development was delivered by both local and international trainers. The participants (Trainers of Trainers) will use the skills they have acquired to conduct training for health experts in their respective regions and councils.