The Deputy Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Aisha Kigoda
The Deputy Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Aisha Kigoda, told the on- going Dodoma parliamentary session that the government has spent more than 4.5bn/- for the past three years for treatment of Tanzanian patients outside the country.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Kigoda said that about 75 per cent of the patients were those experiencing heart problems.
She was answering a question on behalf of the Minister for Health and Social Welfare on how much had been spent for treatment abroad for the past three years which was asked by MP Siraju Kaboyonga (Tabora-Urban, CCM).
The MP had also wanted to know the countries where the patients had been referred to for treatment.
Giving details, the deputy minister said that in the year 2003/04, the government spent about 1.2bn/-, some 1.3bn/-, in 2004/05, and 1.9bn/- in the year 2005/06 for the treatment of patients oversees.
She said: ``The patients got treatment at Madras Medical Mission, Indraprastha, Appolo, Care and Mannipol Multispeciality in India; Millipar Hospital-South Africa, Kenya Hospital in Nairobi and London Medical
Diabetes based in UK.``
On how the government would reduce or eradicate the cost of sending the patients outside the country, Dr Kigoda said that her ministry was working on a plan to establish an open heart surgery hospital in the country.
She said that a team of surgery experts who had undergone training in India and Israel had already come back in the country, adding that at the moment the ministry was going on with the procedures of buying medical equipment for the service.
She said that the government would get the equipment before the end of the year.
Answering an additional question on why the government does not use the Tanzania Heart Institute that also can provide treatment for people facing heart problem, the deputy minister said the institute was facing the problem of staff shortage.
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