Tanzania ICT in Healthcare
Tanzania is struggling with substantial health challenges-such as persistently high child and maternal mortality, human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), tuberculosis (TB), and malaria. For year 2020/2021 to improve health services, the government of Tanzania committed to procurement and distribution of medicine, equipment, medical equipment and reagents; construction of regional and zonal referral hospitals, district hospitals, health centers and dispensaries; improving access to health services through universal health coverage; and employing various health professionals. The Ministry of Health has planned to spend $387.9 million as part of its budget of which $155.5 million will be spent on development projects, which would help the government to implement its health-improving initiatives. This year, domestic contribution to the budget has increased by 21%.
Tanzania Vision 2025 aims at achieving a high-quality livelihood for its people by ensuring access to quality primary healthcare for all. The national ICT Policy 2016 recognizes the application of ICT has a central role in social and economic transformation. The government has formulated the National Digital Health Strategy 2019-2024, to promote the effective use of digital technologies to improve provision of high-quality health services, client experience, health systems strengthening, and health outcomes by facilitating changes and improvements at all levels of the healthcare system.
Opportunities
ICT solutions can play an important role in improving healthcare delivery to individuals and communities especially in the rural areas whereby infrastructure, human and other resources are insufficient. Opportunities exist in:
- Digitization of electronic medical records
- M-health mobile solutions due to high mobile and internet penetration. Development of mobile applications aiming at improving healthcare system efficiency
- Telemedicine
- Wearable technologies, electronic system for monitoring long term illnesses with hospital management systems
- Artificial intelligence in diagnostics and treatment
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), end to end digitization of the hospital business processes, ERP for facilities
Constraints
Challenges exist that could hamper implantation of ICT solutions in Tanzania. Currently there is unreliable electric power supply, limited financial resources, inadequate skilled ICT personnel, limited eHealth skills amongst users and decision-makers and resistance to the adoption of eHealth solutions. On the Tanzania government side there are multiple, fragmented electronic health information systems that are not interoperable and/or not well aligned with the workflow in the health sector, which has added workload to health workers. These constraints can be mitigated by provision of affordable solutions that can be implemented in low resource areas with not much investment required.
Resource
For more information or to understand how your firm can participate in the Tanzania eHealth market, contact Commercial Specialist mary.msemwa@trade.gov.