Awareness of Secondary School Students on Various Gender Perspective Programmes Conducted by the University of Dar Es Salam, Tanzania

A ZJER article on gender awareness amongst youths in Tanzania secondary schools.Gender imbalance is a common phenomenon in many educational institutions especially in developing countries. To overcome this imbalance, The University of Dar Es Salaam (UDSM) through its Gender Dimension Programme Committee (GDPC) has introduced gender-biased programmes with the aim of increasing female students’ enrolment at UDSM'. These programmes include Pre-entry Programme (PEP), Female Undergraduate Sponsorship Programme (FUSP) and Lower cut-off points. A cross section study was conducted in secondary schools in Dar Es Salaam region between August 2004 and July 2005 to investigate student awareness of these programmes. A total of276 students from 13 randomly selected secondary schools participated in the study. Self-administered questionnaires and checklists were used and the data were analysed by statistical software Epi Info 2002. The study showed that the majority of the students were familiar with the concept of ‘gender’ but could not specifically define what it was. They were not even aware that the University of Dar- Es-Salaam (UDSM) had gender intervention educational programmes in place. It is recommended that University gender programmes and general information on gender issues should be disseminated to society as a way of improving gender relations

Method Validation Approaches for Pharmaceutical Assessments – Highlights with High Performance Thin Layer Chromatographic (HPTLC) Techniques

Method validation is an important activity for pharmaceutical evaluations to ensure that analytical methods are suitable for their intended use. With particular focus on active ingredient and impurities, the implementation of different categories of method validation are explained for qualitative and quantitative methods. Detailed explanations with example approaches are provided for the key aspects of method validation, namely specificity, accuracy, linearity, limits of detection/quantitation, precision, robustness, and method range. While all of the sections outlined for method validation are generally applicable for a variety of techniques commonly used in pharmaceutical analysis (i.e., UV and HPLC instrumentation), focused attention is provided for examples that have been implemented using high performance thin layer chromatographic techniques

Occurrence of Aflatoxins in Maize and Maize Products from Selected Locations of Tanzania and the Effects of Cooking Preparation Processes on Toxin Levels

The production and storage of food crops in different countries is affected by aflatoxins contamination, which are known to be carcinogenic and mutagenic to human beings and domestic animals. This study investigated on the occurrence of aflatoxins in maize products and the effects of cooking preparation processes on their concentrations. The maize samples were collected from fields, farmers' stores and markets of selected locations in Tanzania (i.e., Kongwa and Njombe districts). Extracted samples were analyzed for aflatoxins using high performance liquid chromatography. The concentrations of aflatoxins in maize and maize products ranged from below detection limit to 9.99 ± 1.43 μg/kg and 9.99 ± 0.14 μg/kg for Njombe and Uwemba wards, respectively. Whereas those collected from Kibaigwa ward in Kongwa district ranged from 2.87 ± 0.02 μg/kg to 10.26 ± 0.46 μg/kg. The levels in cooked maize products were lower than the uncooked maize products. The mean concentrations of total aflatoxins in cooked maize products were 0.45 ± 0.05 μg/kg for stiff porridge prepared from dehulled maize flour, 1.39 ± 0.02 μg/kg for stiff porridge prepared from undehulled maize flour, and 0.584 ± 0.06 μg/kg for maize meal (kande). Generally, the levels of aflatoxins were below the maximum acceptable limits set by WHO except for some samples from Kibaigwa market which were slightly above the set limits. Keywords: Aflatoxins; High Performance Liquid Chromatography; Maize; Fung

Modeling solutions to Tanzania's physician workforce challenge.

BACKGROUND:There is a great need for physicians in Tanzania. In 2012, there were approximately 0.31 physicians per 10,000 individuals nationwide, with a lower ratio in the rural areas, where the majority of the population resides. In response, universities across Tanzania have greatly increased the enrollment of medical students. Yet evidence suggests high attrition of medical graduates to other professions and emigration from rural areas where they are most needed. OBJECTIVE:To estimate the future number of physicians practicing in Tanzania and the potential impact of interventions to improve retention, we built a model that tracks medical students from enrollment through clinical practice, from 1990 to 2025. DESIGN:We designed a Markov process with 92 potential states capturing the movement of 25,000 medical students and physicians from medical training through employment. Work possibilities included clinical practice (divided into rural or urban, public or private), non-clinical work, and emigration. We populated and calibrated the model using a national 2005/2006 physician mapping survey, as well as graduation records, graduate tracking surveys, and other available data. RESULTS:The model projects massive losses to clinical practice between 2016 and 2025, especially in rural areas. Approximately 56% of all medical school students enrolled between 2011 and 2020 will not be practicing medicine in Tanzania in 2025. Even with these losses, the model forecasts an increase in the physician-to-population ratio to 1.4 per 10,000 by 2025. Increasing the absorption of recent graduates into the public sector and/or developing a rural training track would ameliorate physician attrition in the most underserved areas. CONCLUSIONS:Tanzania is making significant investments in the training of physicians. Without linking these doctors to employment and ensuring their retention, the majority of this investment in medical education will be jeopardized

A High-performance Thin Layer Chromatography Densitometric Method for the assay of Mebendazole Tablets

A simple, precise and accurate high-performance thin layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method was developed for the assay of mebendazole tablets. The separation was carried out by using HPTLC Silica gel 60 F254, (20 × 10 cm) with 250 μm thickness using ethyl acetate - ammonia 25% solution (25:0.5) as a mobile phase. HPTLC separation of the drug was followed by densitometry measurement at 310 nm. Mebendazole was satisfactorily resolved with retention factor (Rf) values of 0.51 ± 0.02. The method complied with International Conference on Harmonization acceptancecriteria for linearity (250 - 600 ng), precision, accuracy and specificity. Key words: HPTLC, method validation, assay, mebendazol

Effectiveness of a structured stimulated spontaneous safety monitoring of medicines reporting program in strengthening pharmacovigilance system in Tanzania

The study was funded partly by EDCTP under SMERT project and TMDA during SSSSM program implementation and data collection, and ASCEND project during data analysis.Under-reporting of adverse drug events (ADEs) is a challenge facing developing countries including Tanzania. Given the high magnitude of under-reporting, it was necessary to develop and assess the effectiveness of a ‘structured stimulated spontaneous safety monitoring’ (SSSSM) reporting program of ADEs which aimed at strengthening pharmacovigilance system in Tanzania. A quasi-experimental design and data mining technique were used to assess the effect of intervention after the introduction of program in seven tertiary hospitals. ADEs reports were collected from a single group and compared for 18 months before (July 2017 to December, 2018) and after the program (January 2019 to June 2020). Out of 16,557 ADEs reports, 98.6% (16,332) were reported after intervention and 0.1% (23) death related to adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were reported. Reports increased from 20 to 11,637 after intervention in Dar es salaam, 49 to 316 in Kilimanjaro and 17 to 77 in Mbeya. The population-based reporting ratio per 1,000,000 inhabitants increased from 2 reports per million inhabitants in 2018 to 85 reports in 2019. The SSSSM program can increase the reporting rate of ADEs and was useful in detecting signals from all types of medicines. This was first effective developed spontaneous program to monitor medicine safety in Tanzania.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Reforms: A Quest for Efficiency or an Opportunity for Vested Interests'? A Case Study of Pharmaceutical Policy Reforms in Tanzania.

Regulation of the pharmaceutical sector is a challenging task for most governments in the developing countries. In Tanzania, this task falls under the Food and Drugs Authority and the Pharmacy Council. In 2010, the Pharmacy Council spearheaded policy reforms in the pharmaceutical sector aimed at taking over the control of the regulation of the business of pharmacy from the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority. This study provides a critical analysis of these reforms. The study employed a qualitative case-study design. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and document reviews. Data was analyzed thematically using a policy triangle framework. The analysis was done manually. The reforms adopted an incremental model of public policy-making and the process was characterized by lobbying for political support, negotiations and bargaining between the interest groups. These negotiations were largely centred on vested interests and not on the impact of the reforms on the efficiency of pharmaceutical regulations in the country. Stakeholders from the micro and meso levels were minimally involved in the policy reforms. Recent pharmaceutical regulation reforms in Tanzania were overshadowed by vested interests, displacing a critical analysis of optimal policy options that have the potential to increase efficiency in the regulation of the business of pharmacy. Politics influenced decision-making at different levels of the reform process

Priority setting for the implementation of artemisinin-based combination therapy policy in Tanzania: evaluation against the accountability for reasonableness framework

\ud Priority setting for artemisinin-based antimalarial drugs has become an integral part of malaria treatment policy change in malaria-endemic countries. Although these drugs are more efficacious, they are also more costly than the failing drugs. When Tanzania changed its National Malaria Treatment Policy in 2006, priority setting was an inevitable challenge. Artemether-lumefantrine was prioritised as the first-line drug for the management of uncomplicated malaria to be available at a subsidized price at public and faith-based healthcare facilities. This paper describes the priority-setting process, which involved the selection of a new first-line antimalarial drug in the implementation of artemisinin-based combination therapy policy. These descriptions were further evaluated against the four conditions of the accountability for easonableness framework. According to this framework, fair decisions must satisfy a set of publicity, relevance, appeals, and revision and enforcement conditions.In-depth interviews were held with key informants using pretested interview guides, supplemented with a review of the treatment guideline. Purposeful sampling was used in order to explore the perceptions of people with different backgrounds and perspectives. The analysis followed an editing organising style. Publicity: The selection decision of artemether-lumefantrine but not the rationale behind it was publicised through radio, television, and newspaper channels in the national language, Swahili. Relevance: The decision was grounded on evidences of clinical efficacy, safety, affordability, and formulation profile. Stakeholders were not adequately involved. There was neither an appeals mechanism to challenge the decision nor enforcement mechanisms to guarantee fairness of the decision outcomes. The priority-setting decision to use artemether-lumefantrine as the first-line antimalarial drug failed to satisfy the four conditions of the accountability for reasonableness framework. In our understanding, this is the first study to evaluate priority-setting decisions for new drugs in Tanzania against the accountability for reasonableness framework. In addition to the demand for enhanced stakeholder involvement, publicity, and transparency, the study also calls for the institution of formal appeals, revision, and regulatory mechanisms in the future change of malaria treatment policies.\u

Awareness of Secondary School Students on Various Gender Perspective Programmes Conducted by the University of Dar Es Salam, Tanzania

Gender imbalance is a common phenomenon in many educational institutions especially in developing countries. To overcome this imbalance, The University of Dar Es Salaam (UDSM) through its Gender Dimension Programme Committee (GDPC) has introduced gender-biased programmes with the aim of increasing female students’ enrolment at UDSM'. These programmes include Pre-entry Programme (PEP), Female Undergraduate Sponsorship Programme (FUSP) and Lower cut-off points. A cross section study was conducted in secondary schools in Dar Es Salaam region between August 2004 and July 2005 to investigate student awareness of these programmes. A total of276 students from 13 randomly selected secondary schools participated in the study. Self-administered questionnaires and checklists were used and the data were analysed by statistical software Epi Info 2002. The study showed that the majority of the students were familiar with the concept of ‘gender’ but could not specifically define what it was. They were not even aware that the University of Dar- Es-Salaam (UDSM) had gender intervention educational programmes in place. It is recommended that University gender programmes and general information on gender issues should be disseminated to society as a way of improving gender relations