BRITAIN and Tanzania have signed an agreement to boost contributions to the Health Basket Fund (HBF), with a £10m (34bn/-) commitment from the United Kingdom to enhance healthcare services.

Dr Natu El-Maamry Mwamba, the Treasury permanent secretary and Kemi Williams, the development director at the UK High Commission signed the pact in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

The pact is scaled to support healthcare delivery from 2024 to 2029 by improving the quality and accessibility of health services across the country, an agreement that some observers view as reflecting a fresh impetus on UK assistance to tackle African challenges in the wake of the change of government there.

Health permanent secretary Dr John Jingu, the Regional Administration and Local Governments deputy permanent secretary Dr Grace Magembe witnessed the signing, where the Treasury executive hailed the UK for joining the fund.

She expressed the government’s satisfaction with an addendum to the previous agreement, which now formally recognises the UK as a key development partner contributing to the health sector support fund.

The new annex takes to a higher level the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the development partners in July 2021 on the matter, as donor countries were taking a new interest in development issues at the new financial year after a change of government.

The fund pools resources to improve healthcare services across Tanzania, she said, pointing at collaboration with Ireland, Denmark, Switzerland governments as well as with agencies like the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). This is crucial to achieving major national healthcare goals, she stated, asserting that the fund’s resources were essential for significant improvements in healthcare, including reduced child mortality rates and better community access to basic services.

The Health top civic official specified that fund resources support healthcare services in village dispensaries and district hospitals since it was set up in 1999, stressing that the UK’s support is invaluable as efforts to strengthen the healthcare system are pursued          

The PO-RALG top executive stated that collaboration through the fund has enabled the government to significantly increase the number of health centres, dispensaries and district hospitals.

As a result, over 65-70 percent of the public now have access to healthcare services within five kilometres of their homes, while the diplomat emphasised the UK’s commitment to universal healthcare.

“Healthcare for all means that everyone, regardless of where they live or their financial situation, should be able to access quality healthcare when needed,” she said.

She praised President Samia Suluhu Hassan and the government for efforts in advancing universal healthcare, citing ongoing reforms plus implementation of the universal health insurance policy.

“We recognise and support Tanzania’s vision of universal health coverage and its goal of ending preventable deaths by 2030. Our partners will continue to provide technical support to improve the quality of primary healthcare services,” she added.