EA Community massive investments in health pay off
DAR ES SALAAM: PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa said yesterday that the establishment of health centres of excellence in the East African region has improved health service delivery by reducing the need for international travel, boosting the medical tourism sector in the bloc.
Officiating at the 12th East African Health Federation Conference and Pharmatech East Africa in Dar es Salaam, the Premier said the centres of excellence in the region are located in Tanzania (cardiovascular), Kenya (renal diseases), Uganda (cancer) and Rwanda (biomedical engineering).
He welcomed investors from across the world to invest in Tanzania, noting that the country has improved its business environment.
Speaking at a well-attended event, with delegates from 41 countries worldwide, Mr Majaliwa said the centres have enabled East African Community (EAC) member states to treat patients needing specialised and superspecialised services within the region.
He added that the region has now become a medical tourism destination for people from the neighboring countries.
At the event, organised by the East Africa Healthcare Federation (EAHF) in collaboration with the Association of Private Health Facilities in Tanzania (APHFTA), Mr Majaliwa added that the EAC’s fifth centre of excellence, specialising in nutrition science, will be built in Burundi.
He acknowledged the contribution of the private sector in improving health services in the region, calling upon investors to invest more in the sector due to the favourable business environment.
He urged the conference delegates to use the event as a platform for sharing various studies and developing strategies to enable the bloc to tackle communicable and pandemic diseases.
“This event should act as a platform for exchanging ideas, enhancing cooperation and engagement and developing strategies to help the region combat communicable and pandemic diseases,” the Prime Minister urged the participants.
Earlier, Deputy Minister of Health Dr Godwin Mollel invited health stakeholders to seize opportunities to serve more Tanzanians as the country implements its Universal Health Care (UHC) policy.
The three-day event, which concludes today, is themed: ‘Enhancing Cross Border Medical Referrals and Quality of Care in the East African Region.’
Ugandan Minister for Health, Ms Anifa Bangirana, called upon stakeholders to cooperate with governments to strengthen health systems by enhancing potential referrals within the East African Region and Africa at large.
“Covid-19 proved to us that we need each other, so the private and public sectors should work together to improve the health sector,” she emphasised.
She stated that data sharing within the sector should be enhanced, urging stakeholders to discuss ways to simplify the exchange of information, noting that doing so is essential to save people’s lives.
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EAHF Chairman, Dr Egina Makwabe, said APHFTA is hosting the event, which primarily focuses on medical referrals in the region with various professionals from East Africa and beyond.
Last month, the Tanzania’s Medical Tourism Coordinator in the Ministry of Health, Dr Asha Mahita said medical tourism is a growing trend worldwide, adding that the government is committed to enhancing healthcare infrastructure and services to promote medical tourism and boost foreign exchange earnings.
