Dar es Salaam — PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has instructed the management of the Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI) to ensure proper maintenance of modern diagnostic equipment, including the PET-CT Scan machine, so that it remains functional and continues delivering quality services to the public.

The directive was issued today, April 16, 2026, in Dar es Salaam, while the President was touring various exhibition booths during the Second International Conference of the Federation of Neurosurgery Specialists, an event held at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre.

During her remarks, President Samia recalled her 2022 visit to Ocean Road Hospital, where she observed significant challenges related to medicine availability and high treatment costs faced by patients.

She noted that these challenges prompted the government to take deliberate measures to upgrade the facility into a modern and model hospital in the country, including investing in expensive diagnostic and treatment technologies.

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"I saw patients suffering, medicines were not available, and they were expensive. After that, we decided we had to change the situation, which is why we made efforts to bring in this advanced equipment," she said.

She further emphasized that despite the government's substantial investment, it remains the responsibility of hospital administrators to ensure that the equipment is properly safeguarded and maintained so it can serve the growing number of patients expected to access the facility.