Eye diseases and services in Tanzania

Since the Arusha Declaration of 1977, Tanzania has stressed the provision of essential services to rural areas as part of Rural Development. This was to provide essential services such as schools, hospitals and clean water, all of which were disproportionately available in the urban areas in spite of the fact that about 90% of the total population lived in rural areas. Thus the aim of the Ministry of Health was: 1. (a) to strengthen primary health care; and 2. (b) to train enough personnel to deliver the necessary services. In order to do this the Ministry had to reorganise its infrastructure and training programmes. This was achieved by building more primary health centres, rural health centres and by strengthening the District, Regional and Consultant hospitals. Tanzania, like any developing country, suffers from the triad of poverty, ignorance, and disease. To combat eye diseases we need more than just health workers. Planners, social workers, school teachers, agriculturists, politicians and the people themselves especially those living in rural areas have to be alerted and organised to combat the effects of eye diseases. Only by doing so can the specialist, the assistant medical officer ophthalmology and the ophthalmic nurse, do their jobs. Also needed are good and easy methods of delivery of these services. This means the availability of efficacious and cheap drugs and a good communication network.