Poverty and Human Development Report 2009 - UNDP in Tanzania

POVERTY AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2009
Eligible Elderly People Accessing Medical Exemptions
Under health service regulations, people aged 60 years and over are entitled to free medical
treatment in government health facilities if they are unable to share the cost. 55 In the HBS
2007, therefore, elderly people aged 60 years and older were asked about their experiences
in accessing medical services. Of those who consulted government health services, only 18%
reported that they did not pay for services. One-third reported having paid for medicines, onefifth
for laboratory tests and one-quarter reported paying a consultation fee. 56 The results are
consistent with findings in Views of the People (VOP) 2007 that only 10% of elderly respondents
had received free treatment (RAWG, 2008). VOP 2007 also reported that 48% of elderly people
were unaware of their rights to exemptions from medical fees.
Public Satisfaction with Health Services
The Afrobarometer surveys provide data on people’s levels of satisfaction with various government
services, including health. Results from these surveys are reported under Goal 3 of Cluster III.
For health services, levels of satisfaction increased from 50% in 2001 to 73% in 2003, and then
declined to 70% in 2005 and 64% by 2008.
The household budget surveys also provide information about satisfaction with health services,
and reasons for dissatisfaction. Among respondents who consulted a healthcare provider, twothirds
reported satisfaction with the medical treatment they received. No marked change in
people’s satisfaction with government facilities was recorded between 2000/01 and 2007; it
was up marginally from 66% to 69%. The chief reasons for dissatisfaction with government
facilities were the same in both surveys: long waiting times and drug availability. Of further note,
satisfaction with mission facilities fell by 13 percentage points between 2000/01 and 2007, while
satisfaction with private doctors was down by 8 percentage points. High cost was the most
frequent complaint about missionary hospitals and other private facilities, and the frequency of
this perception has increased over the period.
Income Poverty and Social Protection
Programmes of social protection frequently use targeted approaches to provide support to
the poorest and most vulnerable, and MKUKUTA pays special attention to social protection
needs for groups who may be particularly vulnerable, including children and the elderly. New
data from HBS 2007 show the poverty rate among households with children and elderly
persons only – that is, where there are no adults of working age (20-59 years) present –
and households with only elderly people (Table 20). 57 The data show that households with
only elderly members are much less likely to be poor than households on average nationally,
17.2% and 33.6% respectively. However, households with only children and the elderly are
more likely than the average household to be poor, with a poverty rate of 45.4%. Clearly,
55 Ministry of Labour, Youth Development and Sports, National Aging Policy, September 2003, p. 10.
56 Data provided by NBS, September 2009.
57 Child-headed households are also likely to be more vulnerable, but the HBS 2007 found only one household
which was child-headed.
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