TANZANIA
Activity
Partnership:
Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, theTanzania Library Services Board and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Information services.
Between 2008 and 2012 the partners, together with Phi, delivered a DelPHE-funded project aimed at strengthening health libraries services throughout Tanzania, including: the selection of resources for ‘health corners’ in libraries, health information curricula development, and continuing professional development for librarians through UK/Tanzania exchange visits.
October 2011: Project visit to UK. Two health sciences librarians and one librarian from the public library system will make a short visit to the UK: 2-8 October. the emphasis will be on providing health information to the public.
March 2011: Project visit to Tanzania - Visit by UK partner and Phi Officers to Tanzania to assess current progress of the project and assist its future completion. During their visit they will hold discussions with the DelPHE Project Team, the “Health Corners” Team and the Tanzanian Chapter of the Association for Health Information and Libraries. In addition, to this they held two workshops, and visit the Tanzanian Library Services Board, School of Libraries, Archives and Documentation Studies, and British Council personnel who administrate the project. They will also explore the possibility of a schools’ health club project, and the long term sustainability of the different strands of the current partnership project and finally plan for a September visit to the UK by the project team.
Health information literacy was being introduced to the undergraduate curriculum in MUHAS. The programme was referred to the curriculum advisory board and was rolled out in September 2011. It is compulsory and will be assessed.
Health information training is being introduced to the librarians curriculum programme in the School of Libraries, Archives & Documentation Studies at Bagomoyo (the School is part of the Tanzanian Library Services Board).
A “Health corner” had been set up in the University library as a pilot, but it will be augmented before a potential rollout to public libraries in the last year of the project.
Workshop group in Tanzania
Information
Partners:
- Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) is a well-established government higher education institution that provides both undergraduate and post-graduate programmes for health personnel in Tanzania. The programmes cover all aspects of medicine, dentistry, public health, pharmacy and nursing.
- Tanzania Library Services Board (TLSB) is a national institution under the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training. TLSB provides information to all groups of people by acquiring, organising and distributing books and other forms of information materials to individuals, schools, Institutions and public libraries. It serves a network of 30 public libraries throughout the country.
- The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in the UK with members spread among 83 other countries. The partnership, led by the Information Services, is supported by the RCOG International Office, the International Executive Board and the International Advisory Group.
Formation and aims of the partnership
This three-way partnership was established in 2006, with support from Phi at the request of MUHAS. The partnership aims to: build a sustainable programme for continuing professional development of health librarians; strengthen the capacity of MUHAS to provide training in promoting and accessing health information; and work with the public libraries to develop health corners in library branches.
"Working in partnership would greatly support our library to build capacity to provide appropriate services and facilities to cope with new challenges and a wider variety of information seekers at the college and throughout Tanzania." - Tanzania Partner
Highlights of past activities and achievements
2009 Knowledge Café - This masterclass was attended by Rehema Chande-Mallya (Director of Library Services at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences and Cath Butterfield (Phi Officer, Partnerships in Health Information). It focused on the Gurteen knowledge café as well as discussions on the importance of conversation and knowledge sharing in organisations.
2008 - 2012: The partners, together with Phi, are delivering a three-year DelPHE funded project aimed at strengthening health libraries services throughout Tanzania, including developing health information for public use by developing ‘health corners’ in libraries, health information curriculum development, continuing professional development for librarians, and regular UK/Tanzania exchange visits.