This article presents socio-economic implications of protracted refugees on peace and security in Tanzania as informed by the experiences unveiled from a study conducted at Nyarugusu Refugee Camp in Kigoma Region. It is a product of a case study research design of a sample of 79 respondents obtained through systematic and purposive sampling. The sample was drawn from refugees in Nyarugusu Camp, community members, refugee’s leaders, UNHCR personnel and local government authority leaders. Data was collected through questionnaires, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and observation. Data was analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. The findings revealed that refugees in Tanzania have been staying in camps for many years, thus creating threat and insecurity to the host community. The host community also faces parallel impacts in relation to security of their properties, disharmony, immoral behaviour such as rape, armed robbery, congestion in social services; and loss of land without direct compensation. Also, the host communities were affected in their daily activities such as agriculture and businesses, as well as access to social services which they had to share with refugees. The study recommends that the national refugee policy document be reviewed to lessen its implementation challenges and accommodate all categories of refugees; the government plan ahead possible refugee influx and measures to attend them; the government and development partners carry more research on refugees’ life in camps to find out possible solutions to refugees case load; and subsequently devise durable solutions to the problem of prolonged refugees in the country.
This article assesses the role of sexual reproductive health awareness in reducing HIV infections among the youth in Kibaha District, Tanzania. The objective is to investigate the role of sexual reproductive health awareness in reducing HIV infections among the youth. The study results revealed that more mature youth were more aware of the pandemic, while gender-wise females were more aware than males. Moreover, married couples were more aware because of their direct involvement in reproduction; and those involved in business were more aware of the pandemic due to high mobility. In terms of land ownership, youth with land were more informed than those who were landless, and youth who earned higher income were more aware than those with less income. There were no significant differentials in awareness between religions. The results on other socioeconomic variables indicated that people who had more access to mass media, like radios, were more aware of the pandemic, as were those with modern houses. Moreover, youth who used electricity as a source of energy were more aware than those who used other sources of energy like firewood. The desire for money and other materials was the major driving force for youth getting HIV infections. Also, heterosexual sex was the major means of HIV transmission, and the major forums where youth got information on the pandemic were youth groups in the community from health centres. The study recommends that efforts of controlling the pandemic be stepped up, and more posters be put in transit routes to warn the community of the pandemic.
Long waiting time in Health care facilities remains a major problem in Tanzania, mostly due to increased demand, shortage of medical health professionals and underdeveloped health care system. We attempted to estimate the average waiting time and find the best scenario in reducing out-patient waiting time. Mwananyamala Hospital was selected purposively, as a Regional government hospital in Kinondoni District, Dar es Salaam. A total of 200 selected patients attended OPD from 16th July to 15th August 2018 were observed and recorded the arrival time at each one-minute interval. Results show that patients at Mwananyamala hospital spend an average waiting time of 167 minutes, with a maximum waiting time of 243 minutes (4 hours). Simulation time was 540 minutes (9 hours) under the assumption that the OPD operates from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm. Simulation results suggested the best resource allocation at the OPD be obtained after adding two more staff, a medical doctor and a registration staff, leading to an average waiting time of 38 minutes, which is almost 4 times less than the current situation. These findings demonstrate how simulation can be used to inform hospital management with valuable data to enhance efficiency in managing outpatients.
