The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Vicent Mnyanyika
3 November 2009
The country has a shortage of more than 200 dentists, leading to thousands of dental abnormalities going without treatment in local hospitals, the government said yesterday.
Deputy Minister for Education and Vocation Training Ms Gaudensia Kabaka said there was one dentist in every regional hospital against the need for 10 such professional to adequately sever the public.
"We have a very low number of dentists in the country due to lack of training facilities," she said at the official opening of an ultra modern facility at the Muhimbili University of Health and Aligned Sciences (Muhas).
The $3 million facility was officially inaugurated by President Jakaya Kikwete yesterday.
Ms Kabaka said the new laboratory was part of efforts by the government and different development partners to mitigate the effects of the huge shortage. She said the number of dentists would be raised over the next seven years.
President Kikwete said the government was keen to see that Tanzanians do not travel outside the country to seek treatment by striving to bring much needed specialist services closer home.
"we want every Tanzanian to get health services in our hospitals here, we are now concentrating in building our major hospitals' capacity to deliver quality and affordable services," said President Kikwete.
He listed some of the services already being offered at Muhimbili as dental clinics, Neurosurgeon and Kidney dialysis.
The dental unit was established through support from the Abbot in partnership with the Miracle corners of the World (MCW) all from US.
Apart from dental building and facilities, President Kikwete also inaugurated completed services of emergency services, the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), CT-scanner, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the Renal Dialysis Unit.
Delivering his remarks, the MCW Executive Director Mr Eddy Bergman appealed to the government to set a mechanism of retaining dentists to work in the country instead of going to seek greener pastures abroad.
"I ask the government to encourage medical experts to stay and offer services here as Tanzanians badly need their services, I also call medical experts here to stay and offer their services to their people," said Mr Bergman.
On his part, the Muhas Vice Chancellor Prof Kisali Parangyo said the donated facilities will set a centre of excellence in medical field in east Africa and Africa in general.
"I am pleased to tell you that these are modern facilities which you can find in modern hospitals even in the western countries, through these, I believe students and the public in general will receive the best health services just here at Muhimbili," said Prof Parangyo.
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