Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

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

The Committee recalls its previous comment in which it had requested the Government to provide a detailed and fully documented report on the effect given to the Convention both in law and practice in continental Tanzania and in Zanzibar. The Committee notes that the Government’s report addresses only partially the points raised previously and therefore wishes once again to draw the Government’s attention to the following points.

Article 2, paragraphs 1 and 3, of the Convention. Policy on nursing services and nursing personnel. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to an official document entitled “National Nursing and Midwifery Policy Guidelines 1st edition of 2002” and the indication that the said document is due for review to reflect ongoing changes in the health sector. The Committee would appreciate receiving a copy of the 2002 policy guidelines and requests the Government to keep the Office informed of all future developments regarding the implementation and the eventual revision of the guidelines. It also requests the Government to specify whether these policy guidelines were formulated in consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned, as prescribed by this Article of the Convention.

Article 2, paragraph 2(a), and Article 3. Education and training of nursing personnel. The Committee notes the summary information provided by the Government concerning the role of the Tanzania National Nurses’ Association (TANNA) – formerly known as Tanzania Registered Nurses’ Association (TARENA) – in reviewing study curricula, in training tutors and in monitoring and evaluating nursing schools. It also notes the Government’s reference to the Nursing Service Unit, and the Tanzania Nurses and Midwives Council as forming a collaborative team responsible for ensuring high-quality education for nurses and midwives. It requests the Government to provide a clear description of the entry qualifications and standards for nursing practice as well as the educational programmes currently in place for the various nursing specialty areas.

Article 5, paragraph 1. Consultations with representative organizations of nursing personnel. While noting the Government’s reference to regular meetings between the members of the TANNA central committee and management to discuss, among other issues, pay incentives, leave and other benefits, the Committee requests the Government to provide additional information on the practical results of these meetings (for instance signature of collective agreements) and to transmit copies of any relevant documents.

Article 6. Conditions of employment and work. The Committee requests once more the Government to provide full particulars on the protection afforded to 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 7. Occupational safety and health conditions of health workers. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to several measures taken in view of the spread of HIV/AIDS infection, including the urgent hiring of additional personnel to reduce workload, the distribution of protective gear, the development of guidelines to better inform personnel of HIV/AIDS infection risk from injection, post‑exposure prophylactic measures for those injured with sharp objects, and the provision of home support for infected personnel. The Committee would appreciate if the Government would continue supplying information in this regard, including statistics on HIV-infected nursing personnel, the specific measures for their protection from HIV infection and other contagious diseases and the practical results achieved so far.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that at present there is an acute shortage of nursing personnel and also a considerable increase of the workload of those in service because of the HIV/AIDS situation. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would communicate in its next report general information of a practical nature concerning the application of the Convention, including the overall number of registered nurses (if possible broken down by age and sex), the number of nursing schools and the number of students enrolled per year, statistical data on the migration of medical personnel principally for economic reasons, copies of official documents or studies on nursing issues such as activity reports of the Nurses and Midwives Council, information on regional initiatives such as the East, Central and Southern African College of Nursing Professional Regulatory Framework (ECSACON-PRF), etc.