Country Gets $64 Million Boost to Health Sector

from All Africa

East African (Nairobi)

By J. Mwamunyange
Nairobi

Tanzania's health sector will receive Tsh80.83 billion ($64.3 million) from its development partners this financial year, a 26 per cent increase over last year's figure.

"This is in recognition of the important role the health sector is playing in reducing poverty," said Julie McLaughlin, the lead health specialist of the World Bank in Tanzania.

The latest tranche will bring the funding to $165 million over the past three years.

Donors are supporting the sector through a basket fund sponsored by Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland, UNFPA, Unicef and the World Bank.

The fund is used in train-ing of health workers, provision of essential drugs, vaccines, contraceptives, medical equipment, and the rehabilitation of health facilities.

The fund also assists in the implementation of priority health programmes for maternal and reproductive health, child health, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/Aids.

Colleen Wainwright, development specialist with Irish Aid and the chair of the Health Development Partners Group, says that this year, the basket fund has increased 50 per cent at the district level and further improved services at community level, health centres and district and mission hospitals.

According to the Ministry of Health, marked success has been recorded in reducing child and infant mortality across the country.

However, there is a need for additional resources in areas where the sector has been successful, such as in improving maternal health.

The sector has also ben-efited from the International Development Agency (IDA), which supported the implementation of the government's 2000-2011 health programme.

IDA has been active in the country's three-phase health sector development project, whose first phase - a $22 million adjustable programme loan (APL) - was implemented in 2000-2003.

The project emphasised institutional capacity development, focusing on strengthening capacity (particularly at local levels) to manage and adapt to changing roles and responsibilities; developing and piloting systems to improve quality and delivery of services and improving resource mobilisation and management.

Phase II - $64 million APL - was approved in 2003 and is running through December 2007.

The objectives of this phase are to expand the reforms and systems/capacity development for better management of resources and quality improvements, with a view to institutionalising decentralised management of health, nutrition and population services at district level and below, and shifting from an input-orientation to output/outcome-based planning and performance management.

In phase III - to run from 2008 to 2011 - the focus will be on institutionalising output-based management, and instituting improved systems for high quality care.

This will be done through the Poverty Reduction Support Credit.