Afrigather Written by Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses, Nation Consultant, World Well being Group Tanzania
Dar es Salaam: Yearly on the 07th of April, the World Well being Group (WHO) joins member states, the worldwide neighborhood, native and worldwide organizations to rejoice World Well being Day to supply a world alternative to focus consideration on vital public well being points and advance the common well being protection agenda for all.
This yr’s theme, ‘My well being, my proper’, champions the suitable of everybody, in every single place to have entry to high quality well being companies, training, and knowledge, in addition to secure consuming water, clear air, good vitamin, high quality housing, first rate working, environmental situations, and freedom from discrimination.
My Well being, My Rights
The world is embroiled in a number of crises – from disasters to battle to the local weather emergency, threatening the suitable to well being of tens of millions globally, with these going through marginalization or vulnerability struggling essentially the most.
Advancing well being as a human proper requires addressing the social, financial, and environmental components that form well being outcomes. This consists of selling gender equality, guaranteeing entry to wash water and sanitation, and tackling the foundation causes of malnutrition and non-communicable illnesses.
The correct to the very best attainable customary of bodily and psychological well being is enshrined in a number of worldwide authorized devices together with the Worldwide Covenant on Financial, Social and Cultural Rights. It consists of freedoms and entitlements. Freedoms embody the suitable to regulate one’s well being and physique and to be free from interference (for instance, free from torture and non-consensual medical therapy and experimentation, notably related for individuals with disabilities).
Respecting our proper to well being means respecting our rights to entry secure consuming water, clear air, good vitamin, high quality housing, first rate working situations, and freedom from violence and discrimination.
Tanzania’s well being agenda
Tanzania continues to endeavor to realize the well being for all agenda, adhering to the rights of everybody and guaranteeing it’s encapsulated in insurance policies and interventions. The World Well being Group (WHO) along with successive governments and companions, proceed to intervene and display an unwavering dedication to well being for all.
Collectively, we’ve got collaborated to discover methods to strengthen well being techniques, enhance entry to important healthcare companies and promote well being literacy and consciousness.
In 2022, the nation workplace in shut collaboration with stakeholders developed a six-year Nation Cooperation Strategic (CCS) plan (2022-2027). That is the WHO’s Company Framework Technique in response to nation wants and priorities in keeping with the thirteenth health-related Sustainable Improvement Objectives (SDG). It offers a medium-term strategic cooperation framework for the WHO in attaining the well being strategic priorities of the United Republic of Tanzania. The timeframe tallies with the United Nations Sustainable Improvement Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for Tanzania. The priorities are aligned with the Nationwide Well being Sector Strategic Plan, SDGs, GPW13, and UNSDCF.
With assist from our companions, WHO Tanzania has and can proceed to assist the nation in strategic and coverage dialogues to assist preserve a well being system that may present accessible, inexpensive, high quality, complete and built-in look after common well being protection and well being fairness in keeping with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Improvement.
By way of addressing main well being outbreaks like COVID-19, Marburg virus in addition to strengthening preparedness by the a number of capability constructing and coaching for well being staff and resourcing well being services to be match for function.
We can’t discuss Tanzania’s main well being achievements with out noting the decline in maternal dying, the efforts to succeed in each youngster with vaccines, addressing HIV/TB /Hepatitis, malaria and communicable and non-communicable illnesses.
But, our work is way from full. To understand the imaginative and prescient of well being for all and advance particular person rights to entry well being care, we should redouble our efforts to deal with the underlying determinants of well being, together with poverty, inequality, and insufficient infrastructure. We should proceed to put money into major healthcare and community-based companies to make sure that nobody is left behind.
Partnership for well being
Past these, there’s the necessity for strategic partnerships for the well being agenda of Tanzania. We’ve got seen dedicated governance in the direction of the well being agenda, we’ve got seen nice curiosity and investments however there’s extra room for enchancment.
One other untapped space is social and citizen participation. Although fairly difficult, social participation, that’s, involving the general public in well being decision-making by town-hall conferences and citizen assemblies, focus teams and consultations, well being councils, and illustration on steering teams and assessment boards, helps governments assess the well being wants of populations and act on them to have the ability to lengthen entry to high quality healthcare and permit everybody, in every single place to stay a wholesome life.
If the theme is something to go by, we as stakeholders are inspired to put money into well being because the nation’s backside line is dependent upon it, as a result of wholesome and powerful residents means a robust and useful workforce able to drive the nation’s progress.
