Tanzania to accommodate regional heart institute

The regional meeting of the East African Community (EAC) has selected Tanzania to accommodate the proposed regional heart institute, authorities said on Tuesday.

Jesca Eriyo, the EAC Deputy Secretary General for Productive and Social Sectors, said the institute will also serve as a centre of excellence for skills and tertiary education in medical and health sciences in the region.

She said the EAC regional meeting on operationalization of the multi-national regional centres in the sector also picked Kenya to host the EAC regional kidney institute while Uganda will be the seat of a similar institution responsible for cancer diseases.

Another proposed body is the EAC regional nutritional sciences institute which will be located in Burundi.

Rwanda will be the headquarters of yet another allied institution that will be responsible for bio-medical engineering, e-Health and health rehabilitation sciences, she said.

Eriyo said the five institutions, besides playing their role in medical treatment and research, will be designated as centres of excellence for the EA region in their respective areas of specialty.

"Centres of excellence will provide the region with an opportunity to better confront the unusual burden of disease being faced by its populations," said Eriyo.

She said the centres will benefit from and contribute towards the on-going regional efforts to harmonize training, practice and licensing of health professionals as well as other aspects of the EAC Common Market Protocol, including the free movement of professionals and services.

Eriyo called on the EAC member countries of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi to invest more money in specialized skills of their health workforce.

She said: "Increased investments would enable our member countries to effectively narrow the historical gaps in the health workforce and accurately address our future needs." Endit