TANZANIA’S Universal Communication Services Access Fund (UCSAF) has donated CCTV cameras to Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) in order to improve security for patients, their relatives, doctors, and all hospital staff.
The project is estimated to cost approximately 10m/- and is part of a continuing efforts by the Fund to ensure government’s entities make use of ICT services. The Fund donated 35 CCTV cameras to the hospital.
One of the places MNH has installed cameras is in their large drug store. This is where it provides variety of services to average of 2,700 patients every day. The cameras will assist in monitoring medicines and ensuring they are administered correctly and to the right people.
The laboratory is another area where the camera has been installed. The purpose of this is to determine if the tests carried out people are correct and if the people who are tested qualify for the tests.
MNH Executive Director, Professor Mohamed Janabi said at the health facility on Wednesday that the cameras were installed to ensure safety of people and properties.
“During the Permanent Secretary of Communications’ regular visit to MNH at the beginning of the year, we mentioned the camera issue, and we are grateful that UCSAF handled this issue today,” Prof Janabi said.
He added, “MNH has CCTV cameras, but since it is a large hospital in the country and in the East African region with over 2,300 beds, securing it against various thefts and crimes becomes crucial.”
Prof Janabi further said that with high quality equipment installed at the hospital, the cameras will prevent crime as some people are now less likely to vandalize, burglarize or in other way commit a crime if they know they are being watched.
According to him, MNH received 11bn/- from the government’s Covid-19 relief fund to purchase significant equipment. They purchased 3T-MRI, CT-Scan, and angio suits, and to-date, 98 per cent of the equipment they purchased with that money has been delivered.
“It is now critical to step up security with such devices.” “I would like to thank UCSAF for the support of these cameras; they will help us a lot in the care of medicines, acts of theft will decrease, but people and their property will be safer,” he said.
During the handover ceremony at the facility yesterday, UCSAF Chief Executive Officer, Ms Justina Mashiba stated; “with this donation, we believe the government’s concept of bringing medicines and reaching the beneficiaries will be successful.”
“There are other things that we continue to collaborate with MNH including Telemedicine is going well so we will ask the people of Zanzibar to come and get knowledge from here,” she said.
