Mkapa Foundation through MOHCDGEC Deploy 307 Health Workers to Strengthen Health Sector Service Delivery in Underserved Areas
Admin
March 30, 2020
“The 307 health personnel (catering for posts of nurses, clinical officers, laboratory technicians among others) will be deployed in eleven regions which are in dire need of the staff. We thank the Benjamin William Mkapa Foundation through the support of the Global Fund in HIV, TB and Malaria.” This was said on 25th March 2020 during a press conference with Ummy Mwalimu – Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children (MoHDGEC) and Dr. Ellen Mkondya-Senkoro, the CEO for Benjamin William Mkapa Foundation. In attendance was also Deputy Minister of (MoHDGEC), Dr. Faustine Ndugulie and, Dr. Zainab Chaula Deputy Permanent Secretary (Health) for President’s Office-Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG)
Ummy told the reporters that the Health workers are emphasized to report to their duty stations as per deadline. She mentioned the beneficiary regions to be Mwanza, Shinyanga, Mara, Simiyu, Geita, Kagera, Katavi, Tabora, Dodoma, Arusha and Kigoma.
“We are pleased to inform you that in close collaboration with Mkapa Foundation, since 2018 to February 2020, through this project we were able to recruit a total of 461 health care providers who provide various health services across the country at hospitals, health centers and dispensaries located in 12 Regions namely Kagera, Mwanza, Geita, Simiyu, Mara, Shinyanga, Kigoma, Tabora, Katavi, Dodoma, Songwe and Kilimanjaro’ said Ummy Mwalimu
She said the health sector cadres whose employment have been made possible in collaboration with the Benjamin Mkapa Foundation include carders such as laboratory technicians whose roles are crucial for diagnosis services at this critical moment of COVID-19.
Moreover, she said, in collaboration with the Benjamin Mkapa Foundation, the Government is finalizing employment logistics for additional 80 health workers who will be deployed in 28 regional zonal referral hospitals countrywide depending on staff requirements based on service delivery indicators.
In her remarks, she advised the non-governmental organizations to work in line with the government priorities and commended the Benjamin Mkapa Foundation for the job well done.
Benjamin Mkapa Foundation (BMF) Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ellen Senkoro said the Foundation’s collaboration with the Government has brought a positive impact on the health services delivery.
“We are hitting 14-years since we started our services, during that time we have employed more than 2,181 health workers serving in health facilities countrywide and this has been made possible through different partnerships from Global Fund, Irish Aid, The Norway Government and Abbott Fund just to mention the few’
She stressed that BMF is delighted to be part of the National strategies to strengthen AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and epidemics such as COVID-19, and hence contribute to the deployment of 307 health professionals to 68 Councils (11 regions) and additional 80 health professionals will be deployed at the referral hospitals in the coming week.
“We would like to assure all Tanzanians that our Foundation will continue to be a great partner and leader in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic through all our projects that have put health professionals and community health workers on the field” She said.
On the other hand, the Government has expressed its commitment to strengthening the health sector service delivery by employing 1000 health practitioners in various health cadres who will among others duties add pressure to the fight against COVID-19.
