DAR ES SALAAM: THE government has reiterated its commitment in upholding Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) to strengthen various sectors, including health systems.
The remark was made by the Dar es Salaam Regional Medical Officer (RMO), Mohamed Mang’una on behalf of the Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner (RC), Albert Chalamila during the official closing of the first phase of the Improving Emergency Care in Tanzania (IMECT) Project held in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
The PPP project worth 1.8 bn/- was funded by the Polish government through the Polish Centre for International Aid in collaboration with Aga Khan Health Service, Tanzania and the Government of Tanzania.
The two-year project commenced in 2022 focused on strengthening emergency care in four public facilities – Mwananyamala, Temeke and Chanika in Dar es Salaam and Nyamagana Health Centre in Mwanza – alongside three Aga Khan facilities.
The RMO said Tanzania is exemplary in public-private partnerships in its effort to complement governmental endeavours to strengthen health systems.
“Our government under the leadership of our President Samia Suluhu Hassan has embarked on multiple priority driven plans to build capacity and improve emergency care services across the country, including the endorsement of Public-Private Partnerships such as this one to collectively achieve our goals,” he said.
“The IMECT project stands as a model of such collaborative success, bringing together the government of Tanzania, international partners and local communities in a unified endeavour to enhance emergency medical services across our nation.”
He further commended the Polish government through the Polish Centre for International Aid and AKHST for the great step taken in seeing and identifying the need and providing funding amounting to around 760,000 US dollars (1.8bn/- ) to improve emergency care in the country over the last two and a half years.
AKHST Project Coordinator, Hussein Manji said during the execution of the project, several achievements have been attained, including establishment of a stateof-the art training centre worth 182m/-, equipped with advanced mannequins for training.
“It includes the establishment of robust training programmes for emergency care providers to build capacity having trained over 2000 health care workers in different emergency courses from the public and private sector,” he pointed out.
Head of Emergency Medical Services at the Ministry of Health, Erasto Sylvanus said the docket is proud to have been involved in the IMECT Project, which aligns seamlessly with the Ministry’s vision of strengthening health systems to provide accessible, equitable and highquality care to all Tanzanians.
“From the outset, the Ministry has worked closely with stakeholders to ensure that the objectives of this project are not only met but that they leave a lasting impact on our healthcare landscape,” he added.
The Polish Centre for International Aid (PCPM) Chief Executive Officer, Dr Wojtek Wilk emphasised that the closing ceremony marks a significant milestone but is not the end of the project.
He also underscored the significance of having good emergency healthcare services in attracting investors.
“If you want to attract any foreign investors, from China, Europe, US, or anywhere, good emergency health care is inevitable,” he insisted.
