Tanzania’s Ministry of Health plans to spend $155.5 million to develop projects to help the government implement their health improving initiatives. Tanzania Vision for 2025 aims to ensure access to quality primary healthcare for all.
The Tanzania government is promoting the effective use of digital technologies to improve high quality health services, strengthen health systems, and facilitate improvements at all levels in the healthcare system.
Opportunities are available for development exist in rural areas where infrastructure, human, and other resources are insufficient. Specifically, the need for ICT solutions exist in:
- Digitizing EMRs
- Finding M-health mobile solutions due to high mobile and internet penetration
- Increasing the use of telemedicine
- Developing wearable technologies, for monitoring long term illnesses with hospital management systems
- Developing artificial intelligence to use in diagnostics and treatment
Challenges still exist that could hamper implantation of ICT solutions in Tanzania. These include unreliable electric power supply, limited financial resources, limited ehealth skills among users and decision-makers, and some resistance to the adoption of ehealth.
On the government side, there are multiple fragmented ehealth information systems that are not interoperable. However, these constraints can be mitigated by utilizing affordable solutions that could be implemented in low resource areas with not much investment required.
For more information, email Commercial Specialist mary.msemwa@trade.gov at the Department of Commerce or go to https://www.trade.gov/market-intelligence/Tanzania-cit-healthcare