NIMR - Mbeya Medical Research Programme

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NIMR - Mbeya Medical
Research Center

P.O Box 2410
Hospital Hill rd, Mbeya Tanzania

Tel +255 25 250 3364
Fax +255 25 250 3134

Working hours:

Mon - Fri
08:00 - 16:30 EAT (GMT + 3)

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Capacity Building

Health care workers training

To obtain improved diagnosis, treatment and care at the health facilities, health care staff from the selected communities has to be trained. Together with the EMINI training coordinator, who is a Public Health Specialist, and the RMO (Regional Medical Officer) office in Mbeya the topics for the EMINI training were discussed. Following their initial qualification, health personnel in rural areas are often isolated and lack continuous education. It was therefore decided that the refresher courses should contain a mixture of administrative and medical knowledge to cover the managerial as well as the clinical side of running a dispensary and therefore improving the delivery of health care.

It should be noted that all the intended topics are not new subjects for the participants but refresher courses. The chosen topics are all part of the curriculum at the medical and nursing schools and get updated from time to time. These updates are subject to teaching by specially trained TOTs (trainer of trainers), a pool of teachers who specialize in certain areas according to National Guidelines. The TOTs run refresher courses and conduct new training whenever new topics or new elements to a known topic are introduced to the National Health System.

The aim of the EMINI refresher courses is to give the health staff an overview over of a rapidly changing and developing environment and to motivate them to deliver good quality care. The curriculum for the second year of training is based on a training needs assessment which was conducted in the region through the Regional Medical Office and supported by EMINI.

List of Topics for Refresher Courses of Dispensary Personnel in EMINI Selected Sites for the year 2006-2007

1. MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH FACILITY
2. INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL
3. HIV/AIDS/STI
4. TB
5. MALARIA
6. SCHISTOSOMIASIS

emini_training

Training session in progress at Zonal Training Center.

Extension of AMO school

One of the objectives in the logical framework of EMINI is to expand and rehabilitate the existing Assistant Medical Officer School (AMO School), so that health care workers for the selected EMINI communities can be trained there and if proven successful this system could be expanded to the whole region. In Mbeya the AMO School is in a much defined space on the grounds of the Mbeya Referral Hospital. To turn the AMO School into a functional and practical training centre it was decided to add three additional classrooms to the compound including some office space for the school. The Principal of the AMO School who was very much involved in the decision making, obtained approval from the MoH to go ahead with the planned construction and the Tanzanian Building Agency (TBA) worked on the design and bill of quantities.

emini_amo At the same time Mbeya was upgraded to a Zonal Training Centre (ZTC) and the Principal of the AMO School is the new Principal of the ZTC. Thus, the extension was very much welcome and classrooms can also be used for zonal purposes.

On the 10th March 2006 the building was completed and the inauguration of the building took place on the 23rd March 2006. A donation/handover was signed by the Principal of the AMO School and the Project manager of EMINI. Since the inauguration of the building it has been used on a regular basis for the AMO School as well as for the ZTC; several EMINI training/refresher courses have been held there up to date.

Rehabilitation of local health facilities

The aim is to establish a network of community sites with rehabilitated health care facilities. During the site selection process one of the selection criteria was the presence of a Government health facility in the ward.
Nine sites with a total of sixteen dispensaries and two health centers were identified. The objective was very well received by the local authorities and communities and any necessary local support was assured.

Every dispensary was visited by an EMINI staff team and building structure and necessary rehabilitation was assessed by a qualified building engineer. The rehabilitation of the health facilities should roughly take place at the same time as the first population survey. As we started the survey at Igurusi site, the first rehabilitations were in Mbarali dispensary with only minor renovations (basically repainting of the health facility) and Uhambule dispensary where the rehabilitation included the demolishing and rebuilding of the dispensary and the staff house. Two improved ventilated pit latrines were constructed at the same time.

Local contributions are no pre-condition for the rehabilitation of the dispensaries.

However they are encouraged and very welcome. The money saved through contributions of the beneficiaries (eg through bricks or water) will be deducted from the contractors bill and will be used to further upgrade the facility.
At the end of year one, Mbarali dispensary was painted and Uhambule dispensary 90% completed. Presently preparations for the rehabilitation of Isangati dispensary are under way. After that, EMINI is planning to start rehabilitation in Mlowo dispensary.

Uhambule Dispensary being rehabilitated

Isangati Dispensary