Exploring HTA Development in Tanzania: A Scoping Visit
On April 7-10, 2015, a HITAP team visited Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for a country scoping visit to explore the potential areas for introducing health technology assessment (HTA) to support health resource allocation, focusing on the investment or disinvestment of health technologies. This visit was conducted in collaboration with PATH, an international health organization based in Seattle, under the Access to Delivery Partnership (ADP) programme of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
On the first day, the PATH and HITAP team interviewed representatives on the topic from various stakeholders in priority setting, such as the Quality Assurance Division in the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, the Global Fund’s Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), and the National Institute for Medical Research, in order to understand the context. With additional assistance from the Priority Cost Effective Lessons for System Strengthening (PRICELESS) of South Africa, the team then conducted a two-day workshop with participants composed of Ministry of Health officials, academics and researchers, clinicians, and donor representatives to gather more information on the context, introduce HTA, and explore the ways forward.