The challenges facing the medical universities in addressing the crisis of human resource for health in Tanzania

Abstract

When this study was conducted, Tanzania was facing an acute shortage of human resource in the health sector. The combined output of graduates from the Medical Universities per year did not meet the national demands of HRH. Little was known about the extent to which the Medical Universities collaborate among themselves in addressing the human resource crisis in Tanzania. The criteria used for determining the number of undergraduate and postgraduate student's enrollment into the medical schools were not known. The universities were facing various challenges, however, little was known about these challenges. The major aim of this study was to identify the challenges facing the Medical Universities in addressing the human resource for health crisis in Tanzania. This cross sectional study was conducted between July and August, 2008. Qualitative methods were used for generating data from selected key informants from the registered Medical Universities and Colleges in Tanzania. Data collected were coded and analyzed manually. Increased enrollment which did not correspond with available resources, severe under funding and inadequate involvement in the process of formulation of the HRH policies and plans were among the challenges the universities faced The challenges facing Medical Universities in the country if not addressed, would compromise the quality of the graduates and in the long run, the number of enrollment would decrease instead of increasing making, the situation worse than was the case during this study.