PharmAccess, an international organisation focused on improving health services, has extended low-interest loans worth 4.89billion/- ($1.8 million) in Tanzania for 2023 to private health facilities owners and pharmaceutical store owners so that they can widen the scope of their services.

Speaking yesterday in Dar es Salaam on the sidelines of the 12th East Africa Healthcare Federation Conference Dr Heri Marwa, PharmAccess Country Director said during this year the organisation has allocated $3 million for the same purpose.

He said that during last year the loans were issued to more than 130 service providers, while in this year the number is expected to increase.

At the conference themed: 'Enhancing Cross Border Medical Referrals and Quality of Care in the East Africa Region', Dr Marwa said that the organisation has been working in collaboration with health service providers in the private sector and in collaboration with the government in improving public health services delivery.

He said PharmAccess works with private hospitals and pharmacies, especially those owned by professional medical doctors and nurses, by providing low interest loans to widen their services outreach.

Through the 'Afya Mkopo' service which it provides in collaboration with one of the giant mobile companies in Tanzania, it has been issuing loans without collateral conditions.

On the part of the government, he said the organisation has been collaborating with the Ministry of Health in Tanzania Mainland and the Ministry of Health in Zanzibar in improving health insurance services and supporting the preparation of regulations and health insurance packages.

"We have been promoting medical tourism to various countries so that people come and get treated here in Tanzania following reasonable investment that the government has made in the health sector," he said.

For the medical tourism campaign, he said the organisation has developed health care quality standards through different levels from level one to level five.

Nicole Spieker, CEO PharmAccess said the organization helps to drive innovations in health systems to make sure that they are strengthened to deliver health services in African countries.

She said the organization mostly works with the private sector because 50 percent of health services in the continent are offered by private facilities.

“Our facilitation is making easy access to affordable loans for medium size health care facilities through medical credit funds for improving quality of services,” said Spieker.

According to her, the organization also stimulates public-private partnerships for universal healthcare coverage. The organization also pushes for digital revolutions in the health sector targeting inclusiveness.

She said the alignment of its services to digital revolutions targets at easing data collection, storage and access, proper data management, accelerating policy review and resources availability.