Govt eyes quality health services

From ANTHONY TAMBWE in Kibaha

THE government is still bent on making sure that all Tanzanians receive quality health services through the use of health insurance. This was said on Thursday by the Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ummy Mwalimu, when she said that most people complain of poor services because they don’t use health insurance.

She said that with the government currently offering free delivery services for pregnant women, some are still complaining over bribery claims which they insist comes in various forms. “In most hospitals, delivery sets are in short supply, which is why pregnant women are ordered to pay for some of them, a good example is gloves, which in normal circumstances they are supposed to be available,” she said.
The minister was on a short working tour in Kibaha where she was the guest of honour during the special inauguration of the first phase of the Tanzania Nurses and Midwives Council (TNMC) Resource Centre Building located on the outskirts of Kibaha town.
She said that the government is working hard to make sure that nurses work in better conditions, considering that 60 per cent of all health workers are nurses and midwives.
However, the minister decried the persistent presence of unruly nurses who tarnish the image of the profession, saying that drastic measures should be put in place to identify and remove such elements.
“Nursing is a very noble profession, but it is sad to note that there is an increasing number of the personnel who portray a bad image of nurses by behaving in an unprofessional manner, that is why TNMC as a regulatory body should make all efforts to uproot such people,” she said.