News:

The Guardian Newspaper of 14^th March 2014 reported that Tanzania needs almost twice the number of medical personnel that it has now if the country is to enjoy better and improved medical services. The spokesman of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nsachris Mwamwaja said currently the ministry has a shortage of 119,969 personnel, equal to 41 percent. He noted that while the minimum requirement of staff in the medical sector for the whole country is 1,857,000 while there are only 65,731 medical personnel currently working in the health sector.

Comment:

Tanzania like other mostly developing countries is encountering a major weakness in social service provision like healthcare. Surprisingly, despite these countries having many resources without mentioning the collection of many unjust taxes, the social services sector is still at a hopeless and shameful poor level.

The issue of strikes by doctors and other medical personnel, lack of equipment and staff facing harsh working conditions is a common matter from lower level up to referral hospitals. This is without mentioning demands for excessive benefits by doctors which is fueled to a greater extent by how politicians especially members of parliament who accumulate bigger salaries while the doctors being a sensitive group of the nation are not at the level of pay with politicians.

This situation greatly contributes to some doctors and medical personnel to flee the country for greener pastures elsewhere such that it has made the lack of doctors and other medical personnel a chronic problem.

According to a report released last year, it clearly stated that during 2013 only, 184 qualified doctors left Tanzania to look for greener pastures elsewhere.

The problem of lack of doctors and medical personnel will not end by educating more doctors or by enhancing their benefits as these are secondary and not basic problems. The basic problem is the Capitalist ideology which is based on wealth accumulation, its politicians not caring about the public and the ideology separating itself from the Creator. These are enough to be a barrier in better provision of this service.

Islam as the true ideology from the Creator has made health service and all social services to be owned by the public and not an individual. This means that all resources like minerals and the like are incorporated in provision of these services. Since the Khalifah is the leader of Muslims, he has a responsibility from the Creator to ensure at all costs that citizens access these services to better their living conditions. This responsibility is a trust in the site of his Lord which will make him uncomfortable if unsolved. Moreover, doctors and other medical personnel will be educated in the true culture that despite being given huge salaries and various benefits, their work is among worships (Ibaadah) by providing service to their fellow human beings. This will ensure success in accessing such a service.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by

Masoud Msellem

Deputy Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in East Africa