AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE government has allocated about 933.2bn/- to improve health services in the country during the 2020/2021 Financial Year, the goals to which end include ensuring that there is enough medical equipment and drugs specialists in the country.
The Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ms Ummy Mwalimu, presented her ministry’s budget estimates on Thursday as she pointed out that the move to have an ambitious budget was pegged on the fact that, the country was fully committed to implementing both local and international obligations to improve services in the health sector as well as community development.
In her budget speech, the minister said that during the next Financial Year, the government was determined to focus on key priority areas that would revamp the health sector as well as improve service delivery.
Among those priorities, Ms Mwalimu said, the government plans to spend about 51.5bn/- on vaccinations.
In controlling maternal and newborn deaths, the minister said that the ministry had allocated 3.5bn/-, which would also involve the construction of six health centres for collecting safe blood in 12 regions that have higher demand in the blood bank.
“Procurement and distribution of drugs and other medical equipment will spend about 246bn/-, out of which 46bn/- will be specifically spent on strategic projects which include HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis,’’ she said.
Ms Mwalimu further told the National Assembly that the government was also committed to improve infrastructures at all key medical facilities including the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), specialised hospitals, zonal and regional referral hospitals, for which 28bn/- had been allocated.
On specialist services, the minister came out clearly that there was no cause for worry as the government had set aside 12.5bn/- to ensure that everything was okay, including procurement of crucial medical equipment.
Furthermore, the government intends to spend about 440m/- to protect the country against unprecedented diseases.
On training medics, Ms Mwalimu told lawmakers, the government intends to spend 19bn/- which will be spent on buying food, footing bills for examinations as well as improving infrastructure at colleges and universities.
“The government will also capitalise on nutrition to reduce stunting in the country on children but also ensuring that expectant mothers are safe all the time to reduce maternal deaths,’’ she said.
