Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Lower-Level Health Care Facilities of Dar es Salaam Region in Tanzania: Status towards Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Way Forward

Background: Improving Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in health care settings is a critical prerequisite for achieving national health goals and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The World Health Organization (WHO) has set a target for each United Nations member state to reach by 2030. Each member state is required to reach by 2022, 2025 and 2030 at least 60%, 80% and 100%, respectively of basic level of service of the five elements which are water, sanitation, hygiene, waste management and environmental cleaning. Methods: This study aimed to evaluate and document the current state of basic water, sanitation, and hygiene services in all lower-level health care facilities in the Dar es Salaam region of Tanzania as of July 2022. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 99 public dispensaries in the Dar es Salaam region’s five councils: Ubungo, Kigamboni, Kinondoni and Temeke Municipalities, and Ilala City. The interviewee form and observational checklists were both digitalized using the Kobo tool software. The respondents were health care facility in-charges or nurse in-charges. Data were downloaded, validated, and imported to Stata version 15 for analysis. Results: The basic WASH level per JMP is far below the target in 2022. Each member state by 2022 is required to reach at least 60% of the basic level of service of each element. We found a low coverage of basic WASH in the 99 dispensaries included in this study. The basic WASH coverage was met in only 10 (10.1%) of the dispensaries, while the remaining 89 (89.9%) dispensaries fall on limited WASH services. Conclusion: This study revealed lower coverage of basic WASH services in dispensaries. An urgent need is required to improve the status of WASH in all the dispensaries and facilitate the provision of quality health care services, patient safety and reduce health care associated infections.

A Survey of Drug Supply Organizations in Rural Areas in four Provinces of China

Aim To realize the present situation of drug purchase, supply, and use in the health service organizations and drug distributors in rural areas, and to put forward some suggestions. Methods An interview survey was conducted in 20 township hospitals, 26 countryside drugstores, and 84 village dispensaries in Hainan, Anhui, Henan, and Sichuan Provinces. Results （1） The main drug supplying organizations in the countryside are township hospitals and village dispensaries. （2） The personnel in the drug supplying organizations are rather inadequately educated. （3） The drug resources in the grass-roots countryside are complex and disordered. （4） Most of the countryside retail drugstores are small, and the number of drugstores is small, but their development potential is great. Conclusion （1） A basic drug catalogue for rural areas should be made up. （2） Legitimate drug wholesale companies should be encouraged to supply drugs for vast countryside. （3） Development of drug distributionstations in townships should be promoted. （4） The administration of drugs in the countryside should be strengthened.

An Epidemiological Survey of Patients at the Beijing Capital Airport

This article presents the epidemiological survey of the patients at the dispensary of the Beijing Capital Airport from July, 1991 to June, 1992. The constituent ratios of disease and age were analyzed. The results of this study may be proved helpful to the emergency treatment at certain Airports.