Assessing Performance of Exemption Scheme: A Case Study of the Ocean Road Cancer Institute

Despite the existence of the national exemptions policy in Tanzania a large proportion of the deserving poor and vulnerable in the country do not have adequate access to health care. A conspicuous group among these is cancer patients who need lifelong treatment and expensive drugs. This was the basis of study to assess the extent of implementation and utilization of Exemption scheme at Ocean Road Cancer institute. To assess the performance of the exemption scheme for the purpose of improving lives of the people suffering from cancer at ORCI through addressing identified gaps. This was a cross sectional study employing both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The quantitative approach involved about 210 patients selected by systematic sampling whereby responses were obtained by administering structured questionnaire, and the qualitative approach involved purposively selected 6 key informants whereby in-depth interview was used to obtain attitudes, views, and experiences in regards to exemption implementation A total of 210 patients and 6 key informants participated in the study. The study found only 41% received complete (full) exemption for chemotherapy, while for laboratory and X-ray services were 24.8% and 33% respectively. Awareness amongst patients and workers was relatively high and the main source of information being health workers by 61%. On resources availability the study found that anticancer medicines and diagnostic machines are not in constant supply of services for long time leading to low exemption of the services. Despite the government‟s policy on exempting treatment services for cancer patients still the coverage is low. The Government through MOHSW to increase budget allocation in regard to the growing cancer health problem, advocate for universal coverage through social health security schemes which would dispense some percent of their earning to the need of exemption and provision of special Insurance Cards for cancer patients to assist in exempting them during transportation. The ORCI to timely repair the broken machines so that the services are readily available and possible provision of back- up machines necessary for diagnostic purposes

Development of Molecular Tools for Identification of Prairie Terrestrial and Wetland algae

Algae are a diverse group of photosynthetic protists. Green algae are typically unicellular, though some may occur as multicellular colonies, and they are found across a wide range of habitats, including marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments. As photosynthetic producers and sometimes symbionts, algae can occupy important roles in an ecosystem; in other circumstances they can have negative impacts on environmental quality. Estimations of the number of green algal species range from eight thousand to over fifteen thousand. The identification of individual algal species can be problematic due to their small size and typically simple cell anatomy. For this reason, molecular tools may be employed to distinguish between algae. We have examined the utility of inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analysis to generate a “bar code” molecular phenotype for the identification of different green algae. Environmental samples were collected from UNO’s Glacier Creek Preserve and from other local sites. Algae from these sites were cultured and isolated. Genomic DNA from these algae was used as the template for PCR amplification, both with and without initial purification from the algae. Amplification of the high copy number ribosomal internal transcribed sequence was possible without initial DNA purification, yielding characteristic size products for different algae; this method did not reliably work for amplification using ISSR primers. Isolated algal DNA was tested with \u3e50 ISSR primers to identify primers that could generate distinct amplification patterns that might be useful for rapid identification of algal species

Society and its Reproduction: The Case of Wasukuma of Tanzaania

This paper discusses economic activities and their influence on the growth and development of human society in Usukuma. The specific objectives focused on firstly the significance of economic activities on the reproduction of human society from its evolution to the current stage. The paper dwelt on the transformation of the Sukuma society in the manner it has been evolving and the nature of economic activities it evolved. The other specific objective was to show how diverse economic activities developed by Wasukuma contributed to the growth and development of the society of Wasukuma. The paper concludes that economic activities are the product of human evolution in the struggle to tame the environment for sustainable growth and development. The paper applied the theory of social transformation to inform this study by situating the Sukuma society in the context of historical process from pre colonialism through colonialism to post colonialism. It is revealed that during pre-colonial period the Sukuma evolved economic activities depending on the demands of the society, technological adaptation and what nature had in stock. Colonial superstructure transformed the Sukuma economic activities to the production of cash crops and minerals as demanded by colonial industries. Post colonial political system created dependency system whereby it inherited colonial economic activities. The main argument of this paper is that economic activities are invented by human beings who want to extract from nature the material life necessary for their existence and reproduction. The paper employed historical exploration utilizing qualitative approach and both primary and secondary historical sources for data collection. Data were collected by interviews, oral and generational histories, archives and documentary review from libraries

Challenges Faced by Adult Learners Enrolled in Blended Distance Learning Programmes: A Case Study of the Institute of Adult Education

This research attempted to provide an insight into major barriers facing adult learners pursuing a diploma in adult and continuing education programme through Blended Distance Learning. Participants included the adult learners, staff from the Department of Open and Distance Learning who are also the facilitators of the programme. This study was conducted as a descriptive case study of the barriers and difficulties faced by adult learners seeking an alternative route to education. Data were collected in the form of interviews, email correspondences, and documents from participants - both learners and facilitators. The findings of the study show that, most of the learners pursuing this programme did not have computers and internet access. Secondly, participants had limited ICT knowledge. Thirdly, most of them didn‟t have study skills and fourthly, these adult learners had competing priorities and struggled balancing family responsibilities, job obligations, and commitment to the programme. It was recommended that, the Institute of Adult Education should introduce capacity building programmes such as provision of short ICT courses concerning for both facilitators and adult learners, improving ICT infrastructures as well as introducing resource centers at the head-quarters and all regional centres.Keywords: Adult learners, distance learning, blended distance learning, education technology, case study

Towards Designing Effective Preschool Education Programmes in Tanzania: What can We Learn from Theories?

Pre-school education, which ordinarily is supposed to be the foundation stone of our education system, is wholly left in the hands of private operators to manage with no supervisory authority over them, a situation that has led to poor standards and quality. It was emphasised that if pre-school education is to serve its stated purposes of making the children to have an effective smooth transition from home to school; prepare the child for the primary level of education; inculcate social norms; inculcate in the child the spirit of inquiry and creativity; develop a sense of cooperation and team-spirit and really teach the children the rudiments of numbers, letters, colours, shapes, among others. It should be well supervised, staffed, equipped, financed and coordinated. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to give foundation tenets for establishing effective preschool programmes. Key words:preschool education; early childhood education, theories; Tanzani

Curative and Preventive Roles of Catholic Missionaries in Kihanja and Ihangiro Bukoba District from 1904-1961

This paper identifies the curative and preventive roles of Catholic missionaries in the development of health services in Kihanja and Ihangiro chiefdoms in Tanzania from 1904 to 1961. The study is based on historical design and qualitative approach. The documentary, in-depth interviews and observation methods were employed in data collection. In disagreeing to traditional scholars, the paper advocates that missionaries did not only offer curative health services but also provided a variety of preventive services mainly in rural areas where up to the 1930s government hospitals and dispensaries were either very few or non-existent. The curative services provided by Catholic missionaries consisted of surgical and non-surgical treatments as well as nursing care activities. The preventive roles included Maternal and Child Health (MCH), health education, training of midwives, vaccination, and leprosy and tuberculosis services. The paper emphasizes that missionary health services not only complemented government’s services in the colony but also pioneered medical provision in the rural areas where the colonial state lacked resource to invest. Missions’ efforts to collaborate with the government was not made to perpetuate colonialism but rather to facilitate the availability of more health services

Pupils’ Perceptions of Sex and Reproductive Health Education in Primary Schools in Tanzania: A phenomenological study

This study explored pupils’ perceptions of sex and reproductive health education in primary schools in Tanzania. Specifically, the study aimed at (i) exploring pupils’ views on sex and reproductive health education in primary schools; (ii) determining opinions on the appropriateness of sex and reproductive health education for pupils in primary schools; and (iii) exploring pupils’ views on the influence of culture on sex and reproductive health education to pupils in primary schools. The study was conducted in primary schools in Kinondoni Municipality. Purposive and stratified simple random sampling techniques were employed to obtain 132 respondents amongst science teachers and pupils in standard five, six and seven. Qualitative research approach informed by phenomenological research design was employed to achieve the objectives of this study. Data were collected through interviews and focused group discussion.The findings revealed that majority of teachers and pupils perceive sex and reproductive health education as important for learning in primary schools. Teachers believed that the teaching of sex and reproductive health education is important for a good health of the pupils. Furthermore, findings revealed that education about sex and reproductive health is appropriate to pupils of 10 to 14 years of age. To them, sex and reproductive health education helps to control behaviours and reduce shocks because of the transition period from childhood to adolescence. In addition, it was found that culture did not prohibit pupils from learning sex and reproductive health education. It was concluded that despite teachers and pupils being aware of the existence of sex and reproductive health education, some pupils are affected by cultural and religion backgrounds. The study recommends that schools should educate pupils of the importance of education about sex and reproductive health in primary schools. Keywords: sex; reproductive health education; sex education; perceptions; primary schools; Tanzania

Sweetpotato post-harvest assessment

For any crop cultivar to be successful it must not only have good production characteristics but also characteristics that ensure the harvested crop is acceptable and suitable for its intended use. Sweetpotato Post-harvest Assessment summarizes work carried out on postharvest aspects of sweetpotato between 1994 and 2002 within collaborative projects involving the Natural Resources Institute (UK), the International Potato Center and the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture, with input from the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute and the National Agricultural Research Organization of Uganda. Methods are discussed for assessing different quality aspects of sweetpotato cultivars within breeding programmes. The book is expected to be of particular interest to sweetpotato breeding organizations and those involved in research on sweetpotato, but will also be useful to those working on other crops