Dar es Salaam to get $79m facility

News 

Sunday, May 25, 2014 

BY KENAN KALAGHO, EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK, KAMPALA, UGANDA

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) have agreed to build a new 14,000 square metre health facility in Dar es Salaam.
AFD is the development arm of the French government. The two institutions announced the $79million (about Tsh127.68 billion) project recently in France.
The facility, among other things, will accommodate cardiology, oncology, neurosciences, critical care, mother and child health, nuclear medicine and imaging services.
The signing agreement was witnessed by the AFD’s deputy Chief Executive Officer Jacques Moineville and the Chairman of Directors of Aga Khan Health Services in Tanzania Amin Habib and the Princess Zahra Aga Khan, who heads the AKDN’s Social Welfare Department.
AFD is providing $53.5 million in concessional funds while AKDN will contribute $26.3 million. AKDN is also chipping in free monitoring, immunization and family planning services to 30 outreach centres in the country.
Completion of the project will mean an improved patient welfare programme, but also development of post-graduate medical education residency programmes in surgery and medicine in partnership with the Aga Khan University.
This investment is part of an ongoing Aga Khan Health Sector programme which started in 2000 and ultimately involves building the state-of- the art hospital in Dar es Salaam.
Tanzania has seen notable expenditure in the health sector in recent years.Not long ago, President Jakaya  Kikwete officially opened the Chinese funded Centre for Cardiac Surgery, Treatment and Training of the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH).