At the 71st World Health Assembly in 2018, a resolution was passed to develop digital technology for the advancement of the health of all people globally by identifying relevant digital services and prioritizing their use, to promote and achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).  In 2023, Tanzania is the focus country for the UNITE Digital Health Hub in the African region. For that reason, UNITE and the Omuka Hub organized a 2-day parliamentarian roundtable in Dodoma, Tanzania. The primary outcome of the event was the establishment of a multistakeholder group to advance Digital Transformation in the region.

On the 17th and 18th of June, the UNITE Digital Health Policy Hub in partnership with Omuka Hub organized an in-person Parliamentary Roundtable, in Dodoma, Tanzania on the theme “Digital Health Transformation to Achieve Universal Health Coverage in Tanzania”. Along with Hon. Neema Lugangira, from Tanzania, Founder of Omuka Hub, and member of the UNITE Digital Health Policy Desk Steering Committee, the event was attended by 22 parliamentarians from Tanzania and representatives from the Ministry of Health, experts from the Centre of Excellence on Digital Health, academicians, civil society organizations and youth representatives. With this as the underlying theme of the event, the parliamentarians discussed various thematic areas like the present and future digital policies in Tanzania, Digital Transformation to advance Primary Health Care services, and health data issues pertaining to Digital Health Transformation, among others.

Sessions wrap-up: Day 1

The guest of honor for the roundtable was Hon. Stanslaus Nyongyo, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Health and AIDS, who stressed, in his opening remarks, the responsibility of parliamentarians towards citizens, the nation, and the world for Global Health issues. He highlighted on COVID management in Tanzania and how Digital Health interventions and solutions became acceptable and are required to be scaled up by leaving no one behind. For this, MPs should  champion Digital Health.

The first session of the roundtable was on “Digital Health Transformation in Tanzania”, which focussed on the status of present Digital Health policy and initiatives, key challenges and future policy imperatives. The speakers for this session included Dr Seif Rashid from PATH, Mr Walter Desanjo from the Ministry of Health, Dr Felix Sukums from MUHAS and Ms Vivian Joseph from the SADC Youth Cluster. The session began with a detailed explanation of the governance of Digital Health policies, the role and responsibilities of the National Digital Health Committee of Tanzania and the development of the Centre of Excellence of Digital Health set up by the Ministry of Health. The key points highlighted focussed on the interoperability of digital systems at all levels, strengthening access to telemedicine, using Digital Health tools for pandemic prevention, embracing health data use culture by skilling the health workforce, and the adequate investment for Digital Health interventions. Parliamentarians stressed that the present National Strategy on Digital should be re-evaluated and awareness among citizens via Digital Health literacy initiatives should be accelerated.

The second session was dedicated on, “Digital Health Transformation to access TB treatment in Tanzania”. The expert panel included Robert Balama, Ministry of Health (NTLP), Dr Oscar Mukasa, StopTB Partnership, Rodrick Mugishagwe, OneImpact and Baraka Ojare, KNCV TB. The sessions highlighted the need for the systematic and timely data collection on the barriers, awareness for intended users to access TB technical tools, and urgency to advocate for digital TB tools as part of the TB care continuum and not as an add-on. The parliamentarians raised interventions on the need to focus on budgetary allocation towards TB care as they influence budgets and also for experts and politicians to be on the same page for implementing Digital Health technologies.

The final session for Day 1 of the event was on “Health Data Governance and Regulation”. The key speakers included Hon. Neema Lugangira, MP Tanzania and founder, of Omuka Hub, Dr Seif Rashid from PATH and Dr. Felix Sukums (MUHAS). The key discussion points stressed were the need to develop policies for the protection of health data both in the public and private sectors, aspects like regulation of rules, processes to collect data ethically and consensually, and accountability in the governance of health data is imperative to develop response strategies to contribute towards having resilient health architecture to achieve UHC. Parliamentarians recognized that there is a need to establish a regulatory global framework on health data governance to strengthen national legislation and regulations across countries which adoptive and adaptive with accountability and transparency at the core to protect individual rights.

Sessions wrap-up: Day 2

Day 2 of the conference began with an interactive session on “Digital Health Transformation to access maternal healthcare services” and was conducted by Dr. Chotta from the Doris Mollel Foundation. The session reflected real-life experiences, including those shred by parliamentarians, regarding premature baby deaths due to the lack of availability of maternal healthcare services. Over the years, Tanzania has made notable progress in curbing maternal mortality and morbidity rates with significant political will to strengthen Primary Health Care (PHC). As there are continued efforts toward making resilient maternal healthcare digital solutions, MPs stressed the importance of curating them in accordance with the needs of women and children and ensure health equity.

The final session of the conference was on, “Digital Health Transformation for achieving Primary Health Coverage and Universal Health Coverage”, summarised the discussion over the past two days with emphasis on Digital Health Transformation as an enabler to achieving UHC. Parliamentarians recognised and remarked on Digital Health as an imperative for achieving UHC globally as it has a transformative impact on global and national health agendas and the well-being of individuals and communities. The health sector has been identified as a policy priority area in Tanzania by the parliamentarians.  Over the last two decades, Tanzania has embarked on many health sector reforms that promote UHC which attempted to be inclusive of the more vulnerable, and to identify challenges and opportunities for the health system to advance on the path to integrating Digital Health transformation policies in a coherent and integrated manner.

Key Outcome: UNITE – Omuka Hub Digital Health Multistakeholder Stakeholder Group