By A Correspondent, Njombe
Njombe is set to become a new hub for specialised cardiac care in Tanzania as the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI) moves to establish specialist heart disease services at Njombe Regional Referral Hospital (NRRH).
The development could significantly improve access to cardiac diagnosis and treatment across the Southern Highlands while reducing the cost and burden of patients travelling to Dar es Salaam for specialist care.
A JKCI quality assurance and control team recently visited NRRH to assess the hospital’s readiness to introduce the services, inspecting infrastructure, medical equipment, human resources, service delivery systems and financing arrangements.
Before beginning the assessment, the team met Njombe Regional Commissioner Anthony Mtaka to outline the purpose of the inspection and the requirements for establishing the specialised services.
Mr. Mtaka said the initiative marked an important step in implementing the Sixth Phase Government’s drive, under President Samia Suluhu Hassan, to decentralise specialised healthcare and bring advanced medical services closer to communities.
“The establishment of these services will make Njombe Regional Referral Hospital a major centre for heart disease treatment in the Southern Highlands,” he said.
Beyond improving access for Tanzanians, Mr. Mtaka said the facility could eventually position Njombe as a destination for medical tourism, particularly for patients from neighbouring SADC countries such as Malawi and Zambia.
The expansion of cardiac services is also expected to ease the financial burden on patients who currently have to travel long distances to Dar es Salaam or other regions for diagnosis and treatment.
For JKCI, the assessment is an important quality-control step before services are launched. The team will identify gaps requiring investment and establish whether the hospital has the infrastructure, equipment, skilled personnel and operational systems needed to deliver safe and quality cardiac care.
The partnership is expected to have a second benefit: strengthening the capacity of NRRH health professionals through specialised training and closer technical collaboration with JKCI.
NRRH is among eight regional referral hospitals selected in the first phase of JKCI’s plan to establish satellite cardiac service centres across the country.
The strategy is designed not only to expand access to specialist treatment but also to reduce pressure on JKCI’s main facility in Dar es Salaam.
For Tanzania’s health system, the decentralisation of cardiac services represents a shift towards bringing increasingly complex medical care closer to patients rather than concentrating specialist services in major urban centres.
At NRRH, the preparations will include determining equipment requirements, identifying training needs and establishing dedicated cardiac clinics and treatment procedures.
Residents of Njombe and surrounding regions have welcomed the initiative, viewing it as an opportunity to reduce delays in accessing treatment for heart-related conditions, particularly for patients who cannot afford repeated journeys to Dar es Salaam. If successfully implemented, the Njombe model could become an important building block in Tanzania’s broader effort to expand specialised healthcare, strengthen regional referral hospitals and make advanced medical services more accessible across the country.
