HEALTH SYSTEM THINKING
MEDICINE MANGEMENT
MEDICINE MANGEMENT
HPSS Project and University of Dodoma join hands for health promotion approaches in community and schools
In its quest to complement government’s efforts to improve the health of its population, Swiss TPH/HPSS Project, in partnership with the University of Dodoma (UDOM) organized a five-day health promotion training aimed at building the capacity of Health Promotion Coordinators from across the country.
The training focused on introducing participatory approaches and technics for health promotion in community and school settings. 52 Health Promotion Coordinators workers including 26 Regional Health Promotion Coordinators and 26 Regional School Health Promotion Coordinators from across the country participated in the training. Additionally, 13 national level Health Promotion Coordinators and Administrators also attended.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Stephen Kibusi, Dean of School of Nursing and Public Health at UDOM expressed gratitude to Swiss TPH/HPSS Project for its initiatives aimed at building the capacity of public health workers.
"UDOM is pleased to be part of the agenda of health promotion, especially at this time when the world is facing serious health challenges such as COVID-19 pandemic”, he said.
Also present at the opening was Martha Mariki, Public Health Coordinator at the President's Office, Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG) who underscored the importance of the training. She said the training support efforts by the government in ensuring effective public health systems.
Ally Kebby, Project Manager at Swiss TPH/HPSS Project said the training covers different participatory approaches that seek to empower communities to increase control over, and to improve, their health. This is in accordance with the WHO Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, Tanzania National Health Policy and other strategic documents that underscore the importance of health promotion as a vehicle to support the health care system and improvement of health status and wellbeing of population.
"This training is just but one of the many interventions that Swiss TPH/HPSS Project has been implementing in the country. We feel greatly honored to continue being a trusted partner of the government", he said.
By the end of the training, participants are also expected to deepen their knowledge in planning, budgeting, implementing and supervising interventions for community and school health promotion.
According to the national health policy of 2007, National Health Promotion Policy Guidelines and National School Health Services Guidelines, the government commits to ensure the population is safe from preventable and avoidable diseases so as to contribute to the national economic development. The initiatives by Swiss TPH/HPSS and UDOM are therefore meant to support this government’s vision in making available quality promotive and preventive, health services through properly trained health personnel.
Besides financing the training, Swiss TPH/HPSS project provided assorted teaching and learning aids to UDOM in order to enhance the university’s function to offer health promotion training, research and documentation.
Items donated to UDOM’s School of Public Health include 3 laptops, a desk computer, a projector, a projector screen, a desktop computer, a heavy-duty printer and copier, reference books, bookshelves, a whiteboard and a pinboard valued at TZS 21 Million.
The partnership between Swiss TPH/HPSS Project and UDOM dates back to 2014 and is aimed at supporting the government in bridging the shortage of health workers in the area of health promotion.