The case in brief
Health outcomes are poor in Tanzania and the right to health has not been realized. Overall allocations to health are low, but instead of
spending its very limited funds carefully, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW) wastes substantial resources on non-essential
spending. This spending includes travel by MoHSW staff, payment of sitting allowances to them, and the purchase of luxury vehicles.
Civil servants’ basic salaries are relatively low in Tanzania. Civil servants are keen to receive additional income from travel expenditures
and sitting allowances (per diems paid by government when civil servants attend training workshops or meetings outside the office). It is
possible to find numerous examples of these types of expenditures in the MoHSW budget.
The Tanzanian civil society organization (CSO) Sikika, has documented such non-essential expenditures. It has put sustained pressure
on the Ministry to use its funds for goods and services that are more likely to ensure for people in Tanzania the availability of good quality
health care.