ICCA’s Tanzanian team held a successful workshop at the Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF) in Dar es Salaam on the 10th December 2019. Participants included senior stakeholders from both health and industrial sectors, including the Ministry of Health, National Institute for Medical Research, Ocean Road Cancer Institute, and pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Professor Fortunata Makene, Richard Ngilangwa, Dr Charlotte Cross, Professor Samuel Wangwe, Professor Twalib Ngoma, Professor Phares Mujinja and Professor Maureen Mackintosh presented preliminary findings from the project. Presentations drew on interviews with healthcare providers in three regions of Tanzania, an innovative mixed methods survey of cancer patients, and interviews with industrialists and other industry stakeholders, to explore facilitators and challenges in providing access to cancer care in Tanzania. The discussion covered a wide range of issues including referral within the health system, the cost to patients of cancer diagnosis and treatment, availability of pathology services, palliative care provision, and market information and access for local manufacturers.
The team is very grateful for the opportunity to learn from participants in the workshop, who offered insightful and challenging questions and suggestions. We look forward to future collaboration as we continue with our work in Tanzania, and in particular as we work to produce and share evidence-based and policy-relevant scenarios related to improving access to cancer care.