Tracking Graduates from Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College: Progress, Benefits, and Challenges

Sarah Dwyer — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 12:37:29 +0000

An exultant white building surrounded by lush gardens, the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College (KCMUCo) gazes at Mount Kilimanjaro, known as “Mama Kili,” with each sunrise. Located in Moshi, Tanzania, the school has been training physicians for over a decade. The first 15 medical doctors graduated in 2002.

While it is still a young institution, KCMUCo has been working hard to address the unmet health care needs of sub-Saharan Africa by increasing the number of health workers and retaining them in Tanzania. Through the support of the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI), the school is focusing on scaling up training, with the number of annual graduates rising to 150 to date. KCMUCo has also updated its programs of study to ensure that medical students are acquiring relevant competencies to provide care for rural and underserved populations.

Author's name:

Rose Mwangi, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College

Publication Date:

September 2014

Learning from Each Other: Study Tour in Namibia Informs Tanzania’s Approach to Health Worker Data

Carol Bales — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:34:37 +0000

In Tanzania, CapacityPlus collaborates with the Tanzania Human Resource Capacity Project to strengthen the understanding and use of the Tanzania Human Resources Information System (THRIS) through human resources management training of health facility leaders and other stakeholders. CapacityPlus works in several countries to strengthen human resources information systems and implement the iHRIS software. This post was originally published on the IntraHealth International blog.

Seeing success is believing in success. That sums up the response of the delegation IntraHealth/Tanzania sent earlier this year on a study tour to learn from colleagues in Namibia about their experiences implementing a large-scale human resources information system (HRIS). What an opportune moment it was to borrow experience from Namibia, where IntraHealth is also implementing an HRIS—and one that has made decisive progress!

In both Tanzania and Namibia, long distances between towns pose challenges on financial resources and time. Like many other countries, Tanzania and Namibia historically used manual filing systems to track health worker data and therefore faced difficulties understanding and aligning their health workforces with actual needs. Because data were difficult to access, aggregate, and analyze, plans did not reflect realities.

Author's name:

Mkama Mwijarubi with Hellen Magige and Rosaline Hendricks

Publication Date:

April 2012