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Tanzania: Assessment of Community Services for Childhood Illness

This report discusses the findings from an assessment that looked at the availability and quality of current community level child health services (both public and private) in rural areas. The assessment found quality lacking at both public and private sector outlets. The rural dispensaries (public sector) are the first choice for routine care among rural populations and across wealth quintiles; however, there are regular stock outs of drugs and staff that had been trained in Integrated Management of Childhood Illness protocols were not following the protocols. At the accredited dispensing drug outlets (private sector) there are fewer stockouts but these outlets are not usually located in remote, rural areas. They are also not accepted by the established medical system as service providers and are primarily filling perscriptions from dispensaries. Providers at these accredited dispensing drug outlets have been trained to recognize danger signs and refer patients to other health providers but they did not do so during the assessment. The report offers some recommendations for how to address these issues in inadequate service provision.