Tanzania, HSE Ireland agree to bolster healthcare services in Dodoma

DODOMA: TANZANIA’S Chief Medical Officer, Professor Bruno Sunguya, has held talks with representatives of Ireland’s Health Service Executive (HSE Ireland) and the Benjamin Mkapa Foundation to explore ways of strengthening cooperation in improving the quality of healthcare services in the country, particularly primary healthcare and training for health professionals.

The meeting, held at the Ministry of Health offices in the Government City of Mtumba, Dodoma, brought together HSE Ireland representative Lorraine Murphy and Dr Henry Kweka, Programme Manager at the Benjamin Mkapa Foundation.

The discussions focused on strengthening healthcare quality improvement (QI) systems, including developing training curricula tailored to the needs of the Tanzanian population and the country’s healthcare environment. The parties also discussed building the capacity of healthcare workers at various levels of service delivery.

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In addition, the meeting explored opportunities to strengthen partnerships between Tanzanian universities, including Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), the University of Dodoma (UDOM) and Mzumbe University, and universities in Ireland.

The proposed collaboration aims to facilitate the exchange of expertise, support the development of training curricula and establish sustainable capacity-building programmes for trainers and healthcare professionals in both countries.

The discussions also addressed expanding specialist medical training, including geriatrics, which focuses on healthcare for older people. This was identified as part of broader efforts to address shortages of specialists in specific medical fields and ensure that citizens have access to high-quality, safe and needs-based healthcare services.