East African community mulls single medical database for its eight member states
Regional Legislators call for single medical database for the East African countries.
The East African lawmakers have advised the community secretariat to establish a single and joint medical database which is to be shared among hospitals and health centers across the eight EAC member states.
Speaking in Arusha, members of the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) pointed out that this will speed up referral health services whenever patients from one country in the region go to get treatment in another.
The members of the East Africa Legislative Assembly were making contributions during ongoing ordinary EALA sessions in Tanzania, while receiving a report of the committee on General Purpose on Performance of the East African Community Regional Centers of Excellence.
These include the center for Vaccines, Immunization and Health Supply Chain management in Rwanda and Cardiovascular Health Services Muhimbili College of Health Science.
In efforts to strengthen the East African Community Centers of excellence, the EAC is in the process of constructing a special training facility for cardiovascular treatment at the Campus of the Muhimbili Institute of Allied Health Sciences in Mloganzila.
This is according to Dr Abdullah Hasnu Makame, who presented the committee report before his fellow East African legislators at the ongoing regional parliament sessions in Arusha.
Dr Makame, a Tanzanian legislator, said the facility has always operated under the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI) of Dar-es-Salaam, which is regarded as the apex of cardiovascular medicine in East and Central Africa.
The regional legislators pointed out that East African centers of excellence should be the ultimate referral medical institutions not only in the region, but where possible also they should serve the entire African continent.
On her part, Dr Aisha Nyiramana, the legislator from Rwanda, said these institutions will help save the costs of treatment for local East African nationals who used to travel long distances, seeking medical treatments abroad, including India and European countries.
During the ongoing First Meeting of the Fifth Session of the 5th Assembly the East African Legislators also carried a motion on resolution of the assembly urging the council of ministers and partner states to strengthen the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care of hemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders in East Africa.