Introduction
About Tanzania
Tanzania is situated in Eastern Africa. The country is 16 times the size of the Netherlands. At this moment there are about 33 million inhabitants. At present, Tanzania is one the world’s poorest countries. The average income is about 300 dollar per year. A doctor’s salary is about 150 dollars per month, which often is sufficient for only half of the family.
At this moment, work is being done – on a small scale – to establish health insurance, yet this is going to take some more time.
Poverty often means living on a day-to-day basis. In such circumstances any investment in a probable illness in the future may be too much to ask for. Presently patients are required to pay a small amount for health care.
Availability of Rehabilitation Care is limited. In some (of the larger) hospitals there are physical and occupational therapists as well as training facilities for these paramedics. There is schooling in orthopaedic tool making. Frequently some brilliant solutions as to prosthesis are found.