Tanzania
An East African neighbour of Uganda listed among countries where nurses may prescribe morphine, which tests whether Uganda's prescriber model transfers across a border.
9 domains reviewed · 9 high-confidence · 1 dated estimate · 9 material gaps
WHO region: Africa. World Bank income group: Income group not yet retrieved.
- Domains reviewed
- 9 of 9
- Hospice: 0 of 4
- Backed by a primary document
- 0 of 9
- Open questions
- 13
- Sources behind this dossier
- 16
- Newest source 2026
Lessons from Tanzania
- Morphine access expanded facility by facility through licensing advocacy, without waiting for new law. A hospital-accreditation campaign for stocking can run while statutory reform proceeds.100
- A nurse permission listed in a regional review did not show up at the point of care. Any new authority should be checked for use in practice, not only presence in text.100,63
- Without a government commitment to fund palliative care, delivery stayed with faith-based and donor networks. Public financing is the step Kenya and Rwanda took and Tanzania had not.101
- Because most cancer patients in some settings use herbal medicine and few tell their doctors, clinicians should ask about it routinely and without judgement.410
Palliative care
Is morphine available in Tanzania?
Opioid supply. Is a therapeutic opioid physically available in the wards that need it? Every country on this question
- 4 hospitalsSOURCE-CHECKED
Hospitals licensed to dispense morphine, Tanzania, 2010100
Last checked 2026-09-24.
Cite this figure:
Oral morphine solution is produced nationally, but access was licensed hospital by hospital and national consumption was described as very low.63,100
What is national consumption, and which body produces and distributes oral morphine?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow does Tanzania regulate opioids for pain?
Narcotics regulation. What licensing regime governs stocking and dispensing, and when did it last change? Every country on this question
- 50 facilitiesSOURCE-CHECKED · 2012 DATA
Facilities approved for oral morphine, Tanzania, 2012100
Last checked 2026-09-24.
Public and private, by the end of 2012, as reported by a programme official in personal communication to the authors.
Cite this figure:
Each hospital had to apply to the national regulator for a licence to dispense morphine. Sustained advocacy expanded licensed facilities several-fold in two years without a change in law. A standalone palliative care policy exists.100,102
Which instrument governs the facility licence, and has it changed since 2012?
Help answer it:Search PubMedWho can prescribe morphine in Tanzania?
Prescriber authority. Who is legally allowed to prescribe, and can that group be widened? Every country on this question
A 2024 continental review lists Tanzania both among countries where nurses may prescribe morphine and among those requiring a physician's special licence, without reconciling the two. A detailed case study found nurses trained to deliver morphine but no independent nurse prescribing.63,100
Does any nurse prescribing authority exist in law, and is it used?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow does palliative care reach patients in Tanzania?
Service delivery. Through what structure does care actually reach a patient at home? Every country on this question
Services grew mainly through faith-based hospital networks and the national cancer institute, with village outreach from some rural hospitals.100
Who pays for palliative care in Tanzania?
Financing. Who pays for the drug, the visit and the workforce? Every country on this question
As of 2021 the government had not committed to publicly funded palliative care, unlike Kenya and Rwanda.101
Does the National Health Insurance Fund cover any palliative care or oral morphine?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow are palliative care clinicians trained in Tanzania?
Training and recognition. What credential exists, who awards it, and does anyone recognize it? Every country on this question
A postgraduate palliative care diploma is available, and nurses in the church network trained through regional East African programmes.102,100
Which institution awards the diploma, and how many hold it?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow does Tanzania prevent opioid misuse without blocking pain relief?
Opioid safeguards. How are misuse and diversion controlled, and are treatment and naloxone available, without blocking pain relief? Every country on this question
In 2014 oral morphine was rarely available in Tanzania, and nurses in 13 rural hospitals reported distress at being unable to relieve severe pain. By 2021 the government had yet to commit to publicly funded palliative care. Methadone is offered through specialized clinics in Dar es Salaam, with a move to community health centers, and 85% of 200 women who use heroin there had witnessed an overdose.100,101,588,589
What share of Tanzanian hospitals now stock oral morphine, and is naloxone available outside hospitals?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow do children get palliative care in Tanzania?
Children's palliative care. How do children with life-limiting conditions get palliative care and the medicines they need? Every country on this question
Among 120 children with cancer at Bugando Medical Centre, 68.33% had poor access to supportive care medicines, mainly due to cost and limited insurance. Caregivers and staff there described financial, knowledge, cultural and communication barriers to end-of-life care, including views on children's pain.591,592,584
Does Tanzania have pediatric palliative care services outside referral hospitals, and are child-appropriate morphine formulations available?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHospice care in Tanzania
How the hospice model works here, who can use it, who pays and who it reaches. Covered 0 of 4.
What does hospice care look like in Tanzania?
Hospice model. What does hospice mean here, who runs it, and in what settings? Every country on this question
Which Tanzanian services call themselves hospices (for example faith-based hospital programs), and do they provide inpatient or home hospice care?
Help answer it:Search PubMedWho can get hospice care in Tanzania?
Hospice eligibility. Who can enter hospice, on what criteria, and how late do patients arrive? Every country on this question
What admission criteria and referral routes do Tanzanian hospices use, and how late do patients arrive?
Help answer it:Search PubMedWho pays for hospice care in Tanzania?
Hospice funding. Who pays for hospice care: a public benefit, insurance, charity or families? Every country on this question
Are Tanzanian hospice services funded by government, church bodies, donors or patient fees?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow many people reach hospice in Tanzania?
Hospice reach. How many dying people use hospice, and who is left out? Every country on this question
How many hospice services operate in Tanzania and what share of dying patients use them?
Help answer it:Search PubMedWhat fills the gap in Tanzania
How people get care outside formal services: families, faith communities, volunteers, health workers, healers, other medicines and charity. Described, not scored.
- Family caregiving
In northern Tanzania, supportive husbands paid for care, took on caregiving and gave emotional support, while unsupportive husbands withheld money or abandoned wives, which delayed diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.415
Subnational evidence- Faith communities
Among 150 palliative inpatients at Ocean Road Cancer Institute, 90% expressed a need for religious practices, mostly prayer, and access was linked to better perceived well-being. Most patients interviewed were Christian or Muslim, and themes included spirituality in coping and in seeking health care.412,413
Single-site evidence- Community health workers and home-based care
A regional palliative care network run from Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre uses community health workers for home visits to cancer patients. During early COVID-19, 74% of 78 of these workers said more patients were relying on local healers, and 92% felt home visits should continue.414
Subnational evidence- Traditional and complementary healers
At a northern referral center, 70.5% of 302 patients with cancer had used herbal medicine, most before seeing a doctor, and 77.5% did not tell their doctors. Reasons included belief in cure, hope of symptom relief, lack of cancer services and tradition. In interviews, 18 of 20 women with breast cancer first sought care from traditional healers.410,411
Subnational evidence
Sources cited here
- 63Bastos F, Garralda E, Montero A, Rhee JY, Arias-Casais N, Luyirika E, et al.
Comprehensive scoping review of palliative care development in Africa: recent advances and persistent gaps. Frontiers in Health Services 2024;4:1425353. DOI 10.3389/frhs.2024.1425353. Country tables covering literature from 2017 to 2023: service counts and ratios, countries where nurses may prescribe morphine, and national production of oral morphine solution.
- 100Hartwig K, Dean M, Hartwig K, Mmbando PZ, Sayed A, de Vries E.
Where there is no morphine: the challenge and hope of palliative care delivery in Tanzania. African Journal of Primary Health Care and Family Medicine 2014;6(1):E1-8. DOI 10.4102/phcfm.v6i1.549. A church hospital network's palliative programme across rural hospitals; morphine dispensing licensed hospital by hospital through the Tanzania Food and Drug Authority; nurses trained in morphine delivery but gated by facility licences and pharmacy restrictions; counts of licensed facilities from 2010 to 2012. Full text read.
- 102Rhee JY, Garralda E, Torrado C, Blanco S, Ayala I, Namisango E, et al.
Palliative care in Africa: a scoping review from 2005-16. Lancet Oncology 2017;18(9):e522-e531. DOI 10.1016/S1470-2045(17)30420-5. Abstract read. Standalone palliative care policies in six countries including Tanzania; postgraduate palliative care diplomas available in Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Tanzania.
- 101Luyirika E, Lohman D, Ali Z, Atieno M, Mahenge A, Mmbando P, et al.
Progress update: palliative care development between 2017 and 2020 in five African countries. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management 2022;63(5):729-736. DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2021.12.026. Abstract read. Tanzania's government had not yet committed to publicly funded palliative care as of 2021.
- 588Nkya IH, Gebrezgi F, Luswetula A, et al.
Implementation challenges and opportunities in decentralized methadone service delivery. BMC Health Serv Res 2025;26(1):61. Qualitative study with 10 providers and 40 clients, outreach workers and supporters on moving methadone dosing to community health centers in Dar es Salaam; one city. Abstract read.
- 589Saleem HT, Likindikoki S, Nonyane BAS, et al.
High occurrence of witnessing an opioid overdose in a sample of women who use heroin in Tanzania: Implications for overdose prevention. Int J Drug Policy 2021;96:103287. Survey of 200 women who use heroin in Dar es Salaam on witnessing opioid overdose, with implications for naloxone distribution; one city. Abstract read.
- 590Sirili N, Yoram F, Mkusa V, et al.
Challenges and opportunities for strengthening palliative care services in primary healthcare facilities: perspectives of health facilities in-charges in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. BMJ Open 2024;14(10):e085746. Qualitative interviews with 15 primary care facility heads in Dar es Salaam on barriers to palliative care, including psychological and social support; one city. Abstract read.
- 413Mkusa VB, Dharsee N, Nyakake J, et al.
Spirituality issues in cancer patients at Ocean Road Cancer Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Palliat Support Care 2025;23:e211. Qualitative interviews with 24 cancer patients at Ocean Road Cancer Institute, Dar es Salaam, on spirituality and coping. Single site. Abstract read.
- 591Katabalo DM, Chuwa J, Mwita S, et al.
Patient Concerns on Access to Supportive Care Medicines and Symptom Management Outcomes Among Children with Cancer in Tanzania. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol Nurs 2026;43(3):170-177. Cross-sectional survey of 120 children with cancer at Bugando Medical Centre on access to supportive care medicines and symptom relief; single site. Abstract read.
- 592Esmaili BE, Stewart KA, Masalu NA, et al.
Qualitative Analysis of Palliative Care for Pediatric Patients With Cancer at Bugando Medical Center: An Evaluation of Barriers to Providing End-of-Life Care in a Resource-Limited Setting. J Glob Oncol 2018;4:1-10. Qualitative interviews with 20 caregivers and 14 staff plus observation on barriers to end-of-life care for children with cancer at Bugando Medical Center; single site. Abstract read.
- 584Petricca K, Kambugu J, Githang'a J, et al.
Access to essential cancer medicines for children: a comparative mixed-methods analysis of availability, price, and health-system determinants in east Africa. Lancet Oncol 2023;24(5):563-576. Prospective 52-week tracking of stockouts and prices of 37 childhood cancer medicines, including oral morphine, at eight tertiary hospitals in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, plus stakeholder interviews; funded by childhood cancer charities. Abstract read.
- 410Henke O, Bruchhausen W, Massawe A
Use of Herbal Medicine Is Associated With Late-Stage Presentation in Tanzanian Patients With Cancer: A Survey to Assess the Utilization of and Reasons for the Use of Herbal Medicine. JCO Glob Oncol 2022;8:e2200069. Questionnaire survey of 302 patients with cancer at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (northern Tanzania) on herbal medicine use and disclosure. Single referral center. Abstract read.
- 415Abraham MN, Msoka EF, Hollis T, et al.
Understanding the role of the husband in supporting early detection, diagnosis, and treatment for breast cancer patients in Northern Tanzania: a qualitative study. BMC Public Health 2025;25(1):1998. Qualitative interviews with 20 breast cancer patients, 20 clinicians and 18 traditional healers in northern Tanzania on the role of husbands. Abstract read.
- 412Sokoine SNE, Kilonzo G, Ahmed N, et al.
Religious practices and quality of life in palliative care: insights from Tanzania. BMJ Support Palliat Care 2025. Cross-sectional survey of 150 palliative care inpatients at Ocean Road Cancer Institute, Dar es Salaam, on religious practices and quality of life. Single site. Abstract read.
- 414Pumphrey I, Serventi F, Kahakwa A, et al.
Impact of COVID-19 on delivery of oncology services in Northern Tanzania: a cross-sectional study of community health workers and patients undergoing cancer treatment at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre. BMJ Open 2023;13(4):e069142. Cross-sectional study of 300 oncology patients and 78 community health workers in the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre regional palliative care network during early COVID-19. Abstract read.
- 411Msoka EF, Abraham M, Cyril PM, et al.
Factors Contributing to Late Breast Cancer Diagnosis: A Qualitative Study on the Patient's Perspective in Tanzania. BMC Womens Health 2025;26(1):34. Qualitative interviews with 20 breast cancer patients (10 rural, 10 urban) at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre on reasons for late diagnosis. Abstract read.