Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Government has launched the Standard Treatment Guidelines (STG) and National Essential Medicines List in Tanzania (NEMLIT), which has equally considered treatment of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also, in efforts to increase service delivery in the health sector, the government has also added 101 new medicines to the national essential medicines list.
Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Dr Doroth Gwajima, launched the new guidelines that were prepared by her ministry in collaboration with other stakeholders including development partners, among them, the Health Promotion and System Strengthening (HPSS) which implements a project for strengthening the health system in Tanzania dubbed ‘TUIMARISHE AFYA’.
The project which is sponsored by the government of Switzerland through Swiss Agency for Development and Corporation under Swiss TPHI focuses on the health system to improve the health financing system.
Speaking at the launching event, Dr Gwajima said STG/NEMLIT had considered the changing medical technology which has been clearly stated in the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.
“Also the new guidelines have considered improvements in various health services including new diseases that are currently occurring from different parts of the world,’’ she said.
Dr Gwajima added that important changes in the sixth version include among other things providing guidelines on how to manage and treat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regarding the National Essential Medicines List in the country, the minister said about 101 medicines had been added to intensify specialist services including those in kidney transplant.
In increasing health services including surgery, Dr Gwajima said, the government was making sure that medicines are available not only at district hospitals but also at all health centres countrywide.
“The medicines include those used in surgeries, blood pressure and diabetes,’’ she noted, adding that some medicines had been axed from the national essential list of medicines after scientific research.
She further insisted that in the new guidelines, specialists will only be allowed to administer drugs that are included in the new list depending on the area of specialty.
“I am also directing MSD to consider this list when procuring medicines because without doing so, we will be doing nothing if improving the health sector is anything to go by,’’ said Dr Gwajima.
