Doctors' strike still makes headlines in Tanzanian press - For the second week in succession, the strike by doctors working in public hospitals and manoeuvres by health authorities to avert a disastrous situation as the public became impatient with the stalemate between the two parties, made headlines in the Tanzanian dailies this week

By midweek some Members of Parliament called on the government to make an official statement on the strike which, according to several dailies, had critically paralysed medical services countrywide.

The Citizen reported of “mounting pressure from a cross-section of the public, who have accused the legislative wing of the State of not giving the doctors’ strike the seriousness it warrants, and indifference to pressure the government to resolve it”.

According to the same daily, the public in general faulted parliament for not being sufficiently assertive on the issue.

Health and Social Welfare Minister Hadji Hussein Mponda on Friday told Parliament that the situation had almost normalised in all hospitals as doctors resumed work while the government worked on their grievances.

“We will be ready to talk to doctors who will be ready to come back to work, but we will not give audience to those who insist on laying down tools,” said the minister, as reported by the government-owned Daily News.

Though several MPs expressed a desire to discuss the medical crisis, Deputy Speaker Job Ndugai directed the House committee on social affairs to make its own inquiry by meeting with doctors, health ministry officials, nurses and other relevant stakeholders and report its findings to the House.

Ndugai said the legislators would discuss the issue after getting views of both contending parties.

Turning to basics in health, Daily News this week urged African nations to kick malaria out of Africa by destroying and spraying insecticides in places where mosquitoes breed.

According to the paper, the use of bed nets alone is not enough to eradicate malaria.

People must be actively involved in fighting the disease in their areas of residence, work or socialisation, the paper said, pointing out that treatment of malaria is by far the most expensive method of fighting the disease.

“Prevention of malaria will be more cost-effective than treatment. Societies like Tanzania are too poor to meet capital costs for preventive measures. Yet issues like getting rid of mosquito breeding grounds, which we think is the most effective way to stop the spread of malaria, is not necessarily capital intensive,” the daily argued.

According to the latest World Malaria Report, there were 216 million cases of malaria in 2010, which caused an estimated 655,000 deaths.

The disease claims about 60,000 lives annually in Tanzania. In Africa a child dies of malaria every minute and the disease accounts for approximately 22 per cent of all childhood deaths.

Meanwhile, The Citizen urged increased investment in health in order to get a healthy nation because recent findings showed that Tanzanians have changed their eating habits.

“Changing eating habits here does not mean ‘dieting’ by choice to improve one’s health. Rather, it describes a situation where people are economically cornered such that the only option they have, if they are to survive, is to cut back on how much they spend on their meals,” said the paper.

Emphasising the need for a balanced diet, the daily explained that food is categorised as balanced when it constitutes the right amount and the right composition.

“The latest trend should, therefore, raise the alarm in our society. Even though we are a struggling economy, the least the government should do is to ensure that the people do not have to cut back on meals. This will help the people remain healthy and bring up healthy children.

“If we allow anything contrary to this, we should not expect to see the nation prosper. Nothing comes from nothing. Unhealthy citizens cannot build a strong and healthy economy; and a vibrant economy can only spring from health people,” the paper concluded.

On its part, The Guardian focused on nurturing the youth to ensure the nation’s wellbeing following ratification of the African Youth Charter by the Tanzanian National Assembly this week.

Among other things, the Charter calls for youth participation in decision-making and democratic processes as well as economic activities of their country.

Also, the document states that Africa’s greatest resource is its youthful population and that through their active and full participation Africans can surmount the difficulties that lie ahead.

Members of Parliament, according to the daily, have urged the government to ensure that the Charter is fully implemented to solve problems facing the youth, including unemployment, troubled education system and marginalisation in appointments to key posts under the pretext of lack of experience.

Issues raised by the MPs included ensuring that schoolgirls are not denied the chance to complete their education, if they become pregnant or are married before finishing school.

Pana 04/02/2012