Tanzanian healthcare receives international attention
The three-part series in the The New York Times on maternal healthcare rightly identifies a deadly bottleneck preventing thousands of women from receiving medical attention in Tanzania: the severe shortage of health workers.
The New York Times has recently drawn attention to the dire shortage of doctors, nurses and other medical professionals in Tanzania by publishing a series of articles that focus on the country's high maternal death rates. "Where Life's Start is a Deadly Risk" (May 24, 2009) outlines the obstacles pregnant women face in receiving timely care. The article also points to the need to train more birthing assistants and midwives as well to provide incentives to health workers to encourage them to live and work in rural areas. The second article, "The Deadly Toll of Abortion by Amateurs" (June 1, 2009) discusses the perils of women who have had incomplete and unsafe abortions in Tanzania. The first article points to the need to train more birthing assistants and midwives as well to provide incentives to health workers to encourage them to live and work in rural areas.
Fortunately, powerful people are becoming aware of the issue and starting to take action, bolstering the Touch Foundation's efforts. In a follow-up letter to the editor, Senator Dick Durbin points to the complicity of the developed world in contributing to the health workers shortage in Africa. Durbin notes that the United States lures health workers from the developing world who emigrate for economic opportunities. Fortunately for Tanzania, health worker emigration is relatively low compared to other countries in the region, as only 6-15 percent of doctors and almost 0-5 percent of nurses emigrate. The country does, however, suffer from an internal loss of talent, as many health workers opt for higher paying jobs with international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and government ministries, which reduces overall access to care, as we found in our Lake Zone Initiative.
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has also drawn international attention to the state of development in Tanzania when he met with President Obama in Washington, D.C. and was interviewed by CNN. President Kikwete's strong support of the Touch Foundation shows he is committed to filling the country's health worker gap, which will ultimately make the difference between life and death for thousands of women and children. President Kikwete is the first African head of state to visit the White House under the Obama Administration.