Challenges towards Realization of Health Care Sector Goals of Tanzania Development Vision 2025: Training and Deployment of Graduate Human Resource for Health

Abstract

Background: Human resource for health (HRH) is an essential building block for effective and efficient health care system. In Tanzania this component is faced by many challenges which in synergy with others make the health care system inefficient. In vision 2025 the country recognizes the importance of the health care sector in attaining quality livelihood for its citizens. The vision is in its 13th year since its launch. Given the central role of HRH in attainment of this vision, how the HRH is trained and deployed deserves a deeper understanding.
Objective: To analyze the factors affecting training and deployment process of graduate level HRH of three core cadres; Medical Doctors, Doctor of Dental Surgery and Bachelor of Pharmacy towards realization of development vision 2025.
Methods: Explorative study design in five training institutions for health and Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW) headquarters utilizing in-depth interviews, observations and review of available documents methodology.
Results: The training Institutions which are cornerstone for HRH training are understaffed, underfunded (donor dependent), have low admitting capacities and lack co-ordination with other key stakeholders dealing with health. The deployment of graduate level HRH is affected by; limited budget, decision on deployment handled by another ministry rather than MoHSW, competition between health care sector and other sectors and lack of co-ordination between employer, trainers and other key health care sector stakeholders. Awareness on vision 2025 is low in the training institutions.
Conclusions: For the vision 2025 health care sector goals to be realized well devised strategies on raising its awareness in the training institutions is recommended. Quality livelihood as stated in vision 2025 will be a forgotten dream if the challenges facing the training and deployment of graduate level HRH will not be addressed timely. It is the authors’ view that reduction of donor dependency syndrome, extension of retirement age for academic Staffs in the training institutions for health and synergizing the training and deployment of the graduate level HRH can be among the initial strategies towards addressing these challenges.

Keyword; Graduate HRH- Doctor of Medicine, Bachelor in Pharmacy and Doctor of Dental surgery holders