Posted on :Wednesday , 4th December 2024

The African Development Bank's Board of Directors has granted a $75 million loan to Tanzania to cover the second stage of the Centre of Excellence for Skills and Tertiary Education in Biomedical Sciences project.

The project's overall cost is anticipated to be $83.3 million, with the Tanzanian government giving $8.33 million in counterpart funding. The project will last five years, from 2025 to 2029.

The overall objective is to create a highly skilled and competitive workforce capable of preventing and treating cardiovascular disease in Tanzania, the East African Community and the continent as a whole by promoting the development of skills, infrastructure and high-quality training.

More specifically, the project will oversee the construction of a 600-bed cardiac teaching hospital outfitted with cutting-edge medical technology. It will also help train 120 university staff members and 100 students to treat cardiovascular disease patients locally, lowering costs and enhancing community access to care.

The project will additionally guarantee that the Centre of Excellence is fully functional for biomedical sciences training and cardiovascular disease treatment; this was accomplished during the first phase (construction and execution of the centre's support facilities, including administrative and training units) on the Mloganzila campus of the public Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS).

This facility is one of East Africa's Centres of Excellence for Skills and Tertiary Education in Biomedical Sciences. Its ultimate goal is to prepare highly trained human resources for the cardiovascular sciences (prevention, treatment and rehabilitation).

The training provided during the project's second phase will supplement that of the 38 MUHAS educators taught in the first phase. It is predicted that 20% of students will obtain full scholarships. These include qualified young individuals from disadvantaged or low-income socioeconomic situations, especially women and those with disabilities.

"The Bank is supporting the proposed Centre of Excellence in Cardiovascular Sciences in Tanzania because it is expected to provide significant health-related and economic benefits by improving the management and treatment of cardiovascular disease," said Patricia Laverley, the African Development Bank's Country Manager for Tanzania. "By focussing on the training of specialised human resources and the creation of a state-of-the-art cardiology teaching hospital, the project will help to reduce morbidity and mortality rates, improve productivity and lower healthcare costs."