By Guardian Correspondent , The Guardian
THE government plans to integrate digital health systems used by public and private healthcare providers and establish a National Health Data Centre to improve access to health information and strengthen service delivery.
The planned Health Data Centre will bring together health information from different sources, creating a centralised system through which authorised users can access data for research, clinical trials and other professional purposes.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Grace Magembe, said the government would continue working with the private sector and drawing on its experience to improve healthcare services for Tanzanians.
Dr Magembe made the remarks mid this week, during the Second International Primary Health Care Conference 2026 in Arusha.
She said the government had learnt from the private sector and was now working to ensure that systems used by public and private health providers could communicate and exchange information through interoperability.
“Government has learnt a lot from the private sector. What we are doing now is ensuring that the systems in the private sector and those in public can communicate through interoperability,” Dr Magembe said.
Interoperability will allow different digital health platforms to exchange information rather than operating in isolation, potentially reducing duplication and making health information more readily available to authorised users.
Dr Magembe said the government was also working to reduce the number of digital systems operating separately within the health sector.
She said the aim was to ensure that existing systems could communicate effectively and exchange information, a move expected to improve efficiency in the delivery of health services.
The planned National Health Data Centre is expected to provide another major component of this digital transformation by bringing together health information generated from different sources.
Dr Magembe said the centre would enable health data to be accessed from a single source, subject to users’ responsibilities and the level of access required.
The information could support health research, clinical trials and other professional activities requiring reliable and accessible health data.
She said access to the information would be determined according to the responsibilities of users and established levels of need, suggesting that not all users would have unrestricted access to the data.
The move comes as Tanzania seeks to increase the use of technology and data in healthcare planning and service delivery.
Reliable health information is important for identifying health needs, planning services, monitoring disease trends and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions.
Fragmented digital systems, however, can make it difficult for information to move efficiently between healthcare facilities and institutions, potentially creating duplication and limiting the ability of professionals to access complete information.
The involvement of the private sector is also expected to provide an opportunity for the government to draw on existing expertise in digital health and service delivery.
Dr Magembe said cooperation between the two sectors would remain important as the country works to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare services.
The initiative also reflects the growing role of digital technology in primary healthcare, where timely and reliable information can support decision-making by healthcare workers and policymakers.
The government’s approach is to strengthen existing systems rather than allow multiple platforms to continue operating independently, with interoperability expected to form a key part of the process.
Once operational, the National Health Data Centre could provide a central point for health information generated from multiple sources, potentially improving access to data for legitimate professional and research purposes.
However, the effectiveness of the initiative will depend on the ability of different health information systems to communicate reliably and on appropriate controls governing access to and use of health data.
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