Govt confident of producing more radiotherapy physicians

DODOMA: THE government has expressed its confidence of producing more physicians for provision of cancer radiotherapy services in the country.

Minister for Health Ummy Mwalimu expressed the confidence on Friday when responding to the question from legislators, including CCM Special Seats MP Tunza Malapo, with regard to provision of cancer treatment in the country, especially through radiotherapy.

According to the minister, it is indeed true that the health sector faces shortage of cancer radiotherapy service physicians but, given the fact that the government implements a number of initiatives, including Samia Health Super Specialisation Programme, the problem will be history in the near future.

Ms Malapo, in her basic question, wanted to know the total number of hospitals that provide cancer radiotherapy service in the country.

Responding to the question, Ms Mwalimu said Tanzania has a total of four centres that administer radiotherapy service to cancer patients in the country.

The minister mentioned the centres as Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Dar es Salaam, Bugando Zonal Referral Hospital in Mwanza Region, Besta Specialised Polyclinic and Diagnostic Centre in Dar es Salaam and Good Samaritan Cancer Hospital in Ifakara, Morogoro Region.

According to the minister, the government continues with procedures to establish radiotherapy service provision centres at Benjamin Mkapa Hospital in Dodoma, KCMC in Kilimanjaro Region and Mbeya Referral Hospital in Mbeya Region on Mainland Tanzania and at Binguni Hospital in Zanzibar.

The minister said the ongoing procedures involve erecting buildings and availing medical equipment that will facilitate provision of cancer radiotherapy service.

Radiation therapy, also called radiotherapy, is a type of cancer treatment. The treatment uses beams of intense energy to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy most often uses X-rays.

In recent, Tanzania has been grappling with a shortage of specialist doctors and nurses in regional referral hospitals, leading to inadequate healthcare services and long waiting times for patients.

However, the government’s introduction of the Samia Suluhu Super Specialist programme is set to transform the country’s healthcare system.

The programme, which aims to train over 400 doctors within and outside the country, is a significant step towards addressing the shortage of specialists and nurses in Regional Referral Hospitals across Tanzania.

With a cost of at least 8bn/-, the programme is a massive investment in the country’s healthcare system, which will have a transformative impact.

The programme will help to address the shortage of specialists in Tanzania’s healthcare system. This shortage has been a significant challenge for the country, with many patients not receiving the specialised care they need. As a result, many Tanzanians have had to seek medical treatment abroad, which is often prohibitively expensive.

With the training of more specialists, the programme will enable Tanzanians to access the healthcare services they need within the country.