Economic Reforms And Health Conditions Of The Urban Poor In Tanzania

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of economic reforms, namely Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs), on the health conditions of the Tanzanian urban poor. My conclusion is that these policies have had detrimental effects on the living conditions of the urban poor. Thus, SAPs are contributing to the deterioration of health conditions among these people rather than improving them. SAPs are affecting these people in a variety of ways. First, by affecting negatively the development of the urban environment, SAPs are destroying the environmental conditions on which the poor depend for their existence and survival. Secondly, by impacting the provision of urban health services, SAPs are affecting facilities which serve the health needs of the urban population. Thirdly, by fueling inflation, SAPs have raised the general cost of living which has exacerbated poverty rather than eradicated it.