Health Services System in Tanzania

Health Services System (Structure):

The health system and especially the Governments referral system assumes a pyramidal pattern of a referral system recommended by health planners, that is from dispensary to Consultant Hospital (Better Health In Africa, 1993). 

The structure of health services at various levels in the country is as follows: 

1.      Village Health Service:

This is the lowest level of health care delivery in the country. They essentially provide preventive services which can be offered in homes. Usually each village Health post have two village health workers chosen by the village government amongst the villagers and be given a short training before they start providing services. 

2.      Dispensary Services:

This is the second stage of health services. The dispensary cater for between 6,000 to 10,000 people and supervise all the village health posts in its ward.

3.      Health Centre Services:

A health Centre is expected to cater for 50,000 people which is approximately the pop. of one administrative division.

4.      District Hospitals:

The district is a very important level in the provision of health services in the country each district is supposed to have a district hospital. For those districts which donate have Government normally negotiates with religious organizations to designate voluntary hospitals get subventions from the Government to contract terms.

5.      Regional Hospitals:

Every region is supposed to have a hospital. Regional Hospital offer similar services like those agreed at district level, however regional hospitals have specialists in various fields and offer additional services which are not provided at district hospitals.

6.      Referral/Consultant Hospitals:

This is the highest level of hospital services in the country presently there are four referral hospitals namely, the Muhimbili National Hospital which cater the eastern zone; Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) which cater for the northern zone, Bugando Hospital which cater for the western zone; and Mbeya Hospital which serves the southern Highlands. 

7.      Treatment Abroad:

Other diseases and cases require special treatment whose facilities and equipment are not available in the country. Depending on the foreign exchange position, some patients have to be sent for treatment abroad. 

Public Education:

Public Health Education mainly is concerned with identifying prevailing health problems and disseminating to the public methods of preventing and controlling them. This is an integral part of community involvement in Primary Health Care (PHC). 

It is assumed that, the health of an individual, the family and community at large is dependent upon factors as environment, social cultural traditions and life styles, hence public health education focuses to strengthen and address issues related to agricultural development, child up-bringing, environmental sanitation and development in general. For instance school children are special target group for health education through the school health programme. Public health education is provided by a variety of methods including mass media, continuous development and dissemination of health education materials and through dialogue with communities. 

Health Professional Training:

There are several medical training schools for various medical cadres. The aim of the government is to train adequate, - qualified and motivated medical personnel at all levels of the health care system.

Reproductive Health:

The National Family Planning Programme is the sum total of all Family Planning activities provided by various agencies – and coordinated by the Reproductive and Child Health Unit of the Ministry of Health.