Stepping up supervision in Tanzania
Frahn, A.L.
Avsc News ) 35(3): 1 6
1997
PMID: 12349010 Document Number: 280936
Located in a remote region of northwestern Tanzania, Maswa District Hospital offers a range of basic services, including family planning. In the past, regional supervisors made only infrequent and short visits to the facility, and then, to mainly drink tea and collect statistics. Many hospital staff members believed that only those supervisors or other people at headquarters were authorized to solve problems. Neither management nor staff assumed responsibility for solving problems, letting even small issues remain unresolved and causing the staff to become discouraged by their inability to meet clients' needs. Change, however, is underway. Supervisors are now working with staff members to remove obstacles to the provision of quality services, often within a matter of months and at little additional expense. This new supervisory approach, known by AVSC as facilitative supervision, aims to task supervisors with meeting the needs of service providers so that they can better meet clients' needs. 11 doctor-nurse teams supervise the 91 sites across the country, offering services in permanent and long-term contraceptive methods. Working together with the Tanzanian Family Planning Association (UMATI), AVSC is training the supervisory teams and holding annual workshops for family planning managers. There is considerable enthusiasm throughout Maswa Hospital.