DODOMA: THE availability of medicines and medical supplies in the country has improved over the past five years following significant government investment in health sector.
The progress has not only strengthened local healthcare delivery but also positioned the country as a growing hub for medical tourism, attracting patients from beyond the country’s borders.
Tabling the review and direction of government t activities and budget estimates for the Office of Prime Minister for 2025/2026 financial year in the National Assembly yesterday, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said that the availability of medicines, medical equipment, modern reagents and health commodities has improved from 73 per cent in 2020 to 89.3 per cent as of February 2025.
“These significant achievements have continued to attract patients from outside the country and strengthen medical tourism, whereby up to February 2025, a total of 7,843 foreign patients have received treatment compared to 5,705 patients in 2020,” Majaliwa said.
Majaliwa also said that specialised and superspecialised medical services have continued to improve whereby currently, the services are available in regional referral hospitals. The hospitals offer eight specialised services that were previously only available at zonal level.
The services include reproductive and women’s health, child health, internal medicine, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, emergency services, radiology services and anaesthesia and sedation.
He said the government efforts in collaboration with private sector has facilitated the increase in number of health facilities from 8,458 in 2020 to 9,826 in Februari, 2025.
The PM further said that the number of hospitals which provide emergency services has increased from seven in 2020 to 116 in 2025.
Additionally, the number of health facilities with maternity and child health buildings has increased from 6,081 in 2020 to 7,397 as of February 2025.
“As a result of these efforts, maternal deaths have decreased from 556 per 100,000 live births in 2020 to 104 per 100,000 live births as of February 2025; and under-five child mortality has declined from 67 in 2020 to 43 in February 2025.
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These achievements are in line with the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) election manifesto 2020- 2025 which targets to enhance access to quality health care. The health sector is key to human development.
The sector includes infrastructure, professionals, medical equipment and supplies, reagents, medicines, curative and preventive care and health insurance.
The Third Five Year National Development Plan 2021/22 – 2025/26 also seeks to strengthen health management systems, service availability and delivery. The plan also prioritises the resolution of quality challenges in health service.
Key interventions of the plan include constructing and rehabilitating inclusive health facilities, ensuring availability of medicine, medical supplies, reagents, vaccine and pharmaceutical equipment, promoting and increasing e scope, as well as coverage of health insurance schemes.
Other interventions are strengthening specialised and super-specialised services in all zonal, specialised and national referral hospitals, improving traditional health services/alternative medicines, promoting and supporting establishment of vaccines, medicines and medical equipment manufacturing industries.
Majaliwa further said that by February 2025, the government had allocated a total of 74.85bn/- to complete the construction of seven dispensaries, 41 health centres and 89 district hospitals.
“The completion of these 63 facilities will help bring basic healthcare services closer to the people, thereby reducing the burden on citizens who previously had to travel long distances to access healthcare,” he said.
Additionally, the government has allocated 45.13bn/- for the purchase of medical equipment for 356 dispensaries, 41 health centres and 119 district hospitals.
