Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149) - United Republic of Tanzania (Ratification: 1983)

The Committee notes that the information provided by the Government in its last report relates only to the application of the Convention in Zanzibar and provides no general overview of the situation prevailing in the country with regard to health-care policy and nursing services. The Committee recalls that no report on the application of the Convention in continental Tanzania has been submitted since 1993 and notes with regret that the fragmentary information relating to Zanzibar does not permit a complete assessment of the extent to which the Convention is given effect in national law and practice. The Committee considers that in the interest of maintaining a meaningful dialogue with the supervisory organs of the Organization, the Government should make a genuine effort to collect and transmit all relevant information regarding the employment and working conditions of nursing personnel in both private and public medical institutions. The Committee notes with concern that according to the Government’s reports there seems to be no specific policy at the national level regarding nursing services nor does it appear that the employers’ and workers’ organizations have been consulted in this respect.

Under the circumstances, the Committee asks the Government to prepare for its next session a detailed and fully documented report on the effect given to the main requirements of the Convention both in continental Tanzania and in Zanzibar, particularly as regards: (i) the formulation of a national policy on nursing services designed not only to improve the standards of public health care but also to provide employment and working conditions which are likely to attract persons to the profession and retain them in it. (Article 2(1) and (2)(b)); (ii) measures relating to nursing education and training as may be taken in consultation with representative professional associations such as the Tanzania Registered Nurses’ Association (TARENA) (Article 2(2)(a) and Article 3); (iii) the institutional framework and practical modalities of consultations, if any, with the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned in matters of nursing policy (Article 2(3) and Article 5(1)); (iv) sufficient protection for nursing personnel, in light of the constraints and hazards inherent in the profession, especially in terms of hours of work and rest periods, paid absence and social security benefits (Article 6); (v) measures to improve the occupational safety and health conditions of health workers, including any specific initiative aimed at protecting nursing personnel from HIV infection (Article 7).

Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide, in accordance with Part V of the report form, up-to-date information on the practical application of the Convention both in continental Tanzania and in Zanzibar, including for instance statistics on the nurse-to-population ratio, the number of students attending nursing schools and the number of nurses leaving or joining the profession, as well as any difficulties encountered in the application of the Convention (e.g. migration of qualified nurses to neighbouring African countries or to developed countries in Europe and North America, etc.).