Tanzania
-- Health
Health
Conditions
A high
percentage
of deaths
in Tanzania
are caused
by four
poverty-linked
groups of
diseases:
infectious
& parasitic
diseases,
illnesses
of the respiratory
system,
nutritionally
related
diseases,
and diseases
of the digestive
system.
Tropical
diseases
are also
widespread,
including
malaria,
sleeping
sickness,
leprosy,
and diseases
of parasitic
origin.
Common illnesses
also include
pneumonia,
poliomyelitis,
tuberculosis,
and venereal
diseases.
Malaria
is the greatest
single cause
of illness
and death.
Children
are commonly
afflicted
by malaria,
and many
die of it
in their
first two
years of
life. Bilharzia
ranks second
to malaria.
It is transmitted
by contaminated
water.
Sleeping
sickness
is common
because
more than
60% of Tanzania
is infested
with the
tsetse flies
which transmit
the disease.
Transmission
of pneumonia,
usually
by contact,
is also
a serious
health problem,
especially
in areas
of high
population
density.
Poliomyelitis
occurs in
almost all
regions,
and onchoceriasis
(river blindness)
is a problem
in several
locations.
Tanzania
has an estimated
150,000
cases of
leprosy
[1] .
Nutritional
disorders
are also
a common
cause of
death, especially
in children.
Unsanitary
conditions
and crowded,
unventilated
houses aggravate
these problems.
Food stored
in the open
air is exposed
to contamination
by dust
and flies.
Few towns
have adequate
sewage systems.
Water, especially
in rural
areas, is
subject
to contamination.
Water polluted
with human
and animal
waste is
frequently
found being
used for
laundering,
bathing,
and even
drinking.
Health
Services
I n 1975
the government
nationalized
almost all
the nation's
medical
health institutions
and adopted
a plan to
provide
basic health
care to
the greatest
number of
people possible.
The simplest
medical
facilities
are the
dispensaries,
which provide
basic care
and dispense
medication.
The dispensaries
are attached
to the Rural
Health Centers,
which are
usually
headed by
a medical
assistant
and average
30 hospital
beds. Graduates
of the Medical
School in
Dar es Salaam
are required
to serve
a certain
number of
years in
outlying
areas.
The
government
has encouraged
a national
plan promoting
family planning
to ensure
better health
for mothers
and children.
The Family
Planning
Association,
affiliated
with the
International
Parenthood
Association
(IPPS),
was founded
in 1969.
By 1990,
the country
had more
than 3000
rural health
facilities,
17 regional
hospitals,
and three
national
medical
centers.
The local
pharmaceutical
industry,
consisting
of four
manufacturers,
provides
about 10%
of Tanzania's
medications.
The rest
are imported
from abroad[2]
.
[1]
Evans-Smith,
William,
(ed.) 1978.
Tanzania
a Country
Study,
American
University:
Washington,
D.C.
[2]
Ofcansky,
Thomas P.
& Rodger
Yeager (eds),
1997. Historical
Dictionary
of Tanzania
Second Edition,
Scarecrow
Press, Inc.:
London
