Finally into the field

Things have been pretty busy and intense trying to launch The Health Network Programme in Tanzania.  There are only about 34,000 health workers for the 44 million people currently living in Tanzania.  Our programme will hopefully connect 9,000 doctors, specialist, clinical officers and assistance, as well as dental officers.  It is one thing to sit in an office, and think these numbers are quite alarming, but it is another thing to go out into the field and see how many people wait all day to see the 3 health workers at the local dispensary or health centre.

The hierarchy of medical facilities in Tanzania (from lowest to highest) are as followings:  Village centers, dispensaries (which cater to 6,000 to 10,000 people), health centers (which cater to 50,000 people), district hospitals, regional hospitals and referral hospital (only 4 in the entire country).

One of our field visits was to the Kisarawe District, located in the Pwani Region, which is the region southwest of Dar es Salaam.  The purpose of our field visits was to test our technology for registration.  The health workers use their mobile phones to register for the programme using a USSD registration menu.

We visited three facilities that day - Kisarawe District Hospital, Sungwi Dispensary, and the Masaki Health Centre.  The dispensarywas located 20  kilometers (roughly 12 miles) from the hospital, and the health centre was another 5 kilometers.

The road from the hospital to the dispensary was dusty, rocky and hilly.  We past several locals on their bicycles climbing the hills with heavy loads tied to their bikes.  It made me wonder how people get from the dispensary or health centre to the hospital where the licensed doctors are.  The nurse traveling with us explained that each facilities had an ambulance, and if the ambulance was unavailable, the patient would generally hire a vodavoda (motorcycle) to drive them.  I couldn't imagine how difficult it must be to travel down that dirt, bumpy, hilly road strapped to the bed attached to a motorcycle.

Ambulance at the health centre, located 25 kilometers from the District Hospital

It was wonderful to finally get to see at least 3 types of medical facilities in Tanzania, but it was also very humbling to see these health workers with very limited supplies and personnel treating a large population of patients.  One health workers told us that he lived close to his dispensary and that everyone is the area had his mobile number if case of emergencies.  He also treated an average of 25 patients per day.  Although I never asked about pay, I am certain they are not paid nearly enough for the amount of work that is required to assist these patients.

And just to give you a sense of our surroundings during our field visit, here are two photos of the type of buildings in the rural areas of Kisarawe.