The government has said that in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals and go beyond them there is a need to put public health innovation in the forefront.
Dr Donann Mmbando
Speaking during the opening of the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) Annual Technical Meeting, the Director of Quality Health Assurance, Dr Mohamed Ali, said on behalf of the Chief Medical Officer at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Donan Mbando, that in spite of many achievements, the country was still lagging behind.
“Allow me to take this opportunity to thank AMREF for complimenting towards the nation’s goals and objectives. The government recognizes the innovation that AMREF uses in dealing with communities and this is something we as government need to peg our priorities on,” he said.
The three-day meeting bears the theme, “Emerging evidence from communities: linking knowledge, policy and practice”. Dr Ali said that the ministry is currently reviewing its third mid-term strategic plan and that it could benefit much from AMREF and the experiences it gains from working directly with communities in the country.
He said that the ministry was particularly interested in forming collaborations through Public Private Partnerships with NGOs and CSOs to increase the thrust of dealing with the challenges at the grassroots levels. “The health sector is overwhelmed by disease burdens and therefore we are highly dependent on research.
There is a shift at the ministry where we want to use research findings to formulate policy,” he explained. The AMREF Country Director, Dr Festus Ilako, said that with the current turn of events where there is a shift from aid to trade by donors, the solutions of the day can only be obtained from research.
Dr Ilako said that the essence of having annual technical meetings apart from showcasing their innovations and research work that has major implications for projects and programmes, it was a platform to network and collaborate, both of which are vital for research.
“These meetings are a training ground and a skill building event for both novices and seasoned researchers and technical staff,” he said. Representing the AMREF Head of Programme Development and also Programme Leader, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Mr Austin Beebe said that before research can make a difference to solving health problems, there was need for the rebranding of the mind.
Mr Beebe said that during the three-day meeting, the participants should learn from AMREF’s best practices, their mistakes, their achievements such that together, all stakeholders help in raising the flag of the country.
Outlining the objectives of the meeting, AMREF Deputy Country Director, Dr Rita Noronha mentioned as being to share research findings and best practices among AMREF staff and key stakeholders, promote health research for suitability of interventions and identify good papers for further development of manuscripts for publication.
The meeting is attended by over 70 participants from AMREF, National Institute of Medical Research, Unite for Body Rights (UFBR) and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
By MASEMBE TAMBWE, Tanzania Daily News
