Institute of Allied Health Sciences
The Institute of Allied Health Sciences (AIHS) is a public institution for training middle level technical health service provider in Tanzania. It is one of the Institutes of Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS).
The Institute is situated within the premises of Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH). It conducts eight MUHAS University diploma and three Ministry of Health diploma and advanced diploma programmes in twelve schools; eight are in Muhimbili, two at KCMC, one in Mpwapwa and one in Tanga.
The Institute of Allied Health Sciences is in a position to provide in Tanzania a place of learning, research and service in technical health sciences that are based on curative, preventive, rehabilitative and restorative health care.
Training Programs
Available student training programmes:
i) University programmes:
- Advanced Diploma in Dermatovenereology (ADDV)
- Advanced Diploma in Medical Laboratory Sciences (ADMLS)
- Advanced Diploma in Nursing Education (ADNE)
- Diploma in Diagnostic Radiography (DDR)
- Diploma in Environmental Health Sciences (DEHS)
- Diploma in Medical Laboratory Sciences (DMLS)
- Diploma in Orthopaedic Technology (DOT)
- Diploma in Pharmaceutical Sciences (DPS)
ii) Ministry of Health programmes:
- Advanced Diploma in Clinical Dentistry (ADCD)
- Advanced Diploma in Midwifery (ADM)
- Diploma in Dental Laboratory Technology (DDLT)
- Diploma in Nursing.
Institute of Traditional Medicine
The Institute of Traditional Medicine started as a research Unit in July 1974 and its research activities were under a senate sub-committee. The Research Unit was transformed into the Institute of Traditional Medicine under the Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences by the Act of Parliament No. 9 of 1991, Section 10-(1) (c). The Act provides for an Institute Board, which reports to the Academic Board of the College.
Mandate of the Institute
The Institute of Traditional Medicine is charged with the responsibility to research into traditional healing systems, in Tanzania , to identify useful practices which can be adopted and to also identify useful materia medica that can be modernized and developed into drugs.
Mandate of the Institute
The Institute of Traditional Medicine is charged with the responsibility to research into traditional healing systems, in Tanzania , to identify useful practices which can be adopted and to also identify useful materia medica that can be modernized and developed into drugs.
Tanzania is estimated to have a traditional healer:population ratio of 1:400, thus giving an estimated number of over 80,000 traditional healers with varying specialities. The majority of healers are herbalists using mainly plants and a few animal and mineral products. There are also practices such as bone setting and socio-cultural aspects which contribute to the healing practices.
Tanzania has over 12,000 higher plant species and it is estimated that at least a quarter of these plants have medicinal value. The Institute has so far documented slightly over 2500 species with limited preliminary chemical and pharmacological work. This means that there is still a lot of work to be done to effectively exploit this vast potential. It is also true that some of plants growing in Tanzania are already proven to have medicinal value and have a big market potential worldwide and can be exploited for local drug production. Some examples include Cinchona ledgeriana, Artemisia afra, Rauvolfia caffra, Rauvolfia serpetina, Atropa belladonna, Catharanthus rosea, Pischiera fuchsiaefolia , Moringa oleifera, Vuacanga Africana, Prunus Africana, and Waltheria indica, to just mention a few .
The Institute aspires to play a leading role in the development of this vast resource by strategically building expertise in all areas related to drug development, including basic science knowledge base, biological testing, pre-clinical toxicological studies, clinical trials and evaluation, pharmaceutical technology, standardization of herbal pharmaceuticals, biotechnology aimed at producing plants with best levels of active molecules and maturing in a short period. Other areas include tissue culture, for production of secondary metabolites as drugs etc. Involvement of development partners, private entrepreneurs and increased financial input from government to support research, training, recruitment and development of infrastructure are much needed.
Vision
To become the leading institution, in Tanzania, developing standardized quality herbal medicines for the healthy well being of the people, and contribute to poverty reduction through community based cultivation of specific medicinal plants
Mission statement
To act as a center of excellence in the evaluation, documentation, creation and dissemination of knowledge on traditional medicine and drug discovery and, hence, contribute to the intellectual life of Tanzania, educate the public and ensure that research in traditional medicine responds to the health needs of the people and acts as a catalyst to improve health care services in the country.
Tanzania has over 12,000 higher plant species and it is estimated that at least a quarter of these plants have medicinal value. The Institute has so far documented slightly over 2500 species with limited preliminary chemical and pharmacological work. This means that there is still a lot of work to be done to effectively exploit this vast potential. It is also true that some of plants growing in Tanzania are already proven to have medicinal value and have a big market potential worldwide and can be exploited for local drug production. Some examples include Cinchona ledgeriana, Artemisia afra, Rauvolfia caffra, Rauvolfia serpetina, Atropa belladonna, Catharanthus rosea, Pischiera fuchsiaefolia , Moringa oleifera, Vuacanga Africana, Prunus Africana, and Waltheria indica, to just mention a few .
The Institute aspires to play a leading role in the development of this vast resource by strategically building expertise in all areas related to drug development, including basic science knowledge base, biological testing, pre-clinical toxicological studies, clinical trials and evaluation, pharmaceutical technology, standardization of herbal pharmaceuticals, biotechnology aimed at producing plants with best levels of active molecules and maturing in a short period. Other areas include tissue culture, for production of secondary metabolites as drugs etc. Involvement of development partners, private entrepreneurs and increased financial input from government to support research, training, recruitment and development of infrastructure are much needed.Vision
To become the leading institution, in Tanzania, developing standardized quality herbal medicines for the healthy well being of the people, and contribute to poverty reduction through community based cultivation of specific medicinal plants
Mission statement
To act as a center of excellence in the evaluation, documentation, creation and dissemination of knowledge on traditional medicine and drug discovery and, hence, contribute to the intellectual life of Tanzania, educate the public and ensure that research in traditional medicine responds to the health needs of the people and acts as a catalyst to improve health care services in the country.
Objectives of the Institute
- To promote the use of traditional medicines and traditional methods of healing
- To promote commercial exploitation and conservation of medicinal plants
- To contribute to the discovery of new drugs
- To contribute to the local production of pharmaceuticals
- To disseminate knowledge on traditional and plant derived medicines.
The basic functions of the Institute includes:
- To promote field data collection from traditional healers and traditional birth attendants and communities, documentation and storage of information and materials pertaining to all aspects of traditional medicine
- To empower traditional healers by providing feedback from research findings resulting from collected materials and information, and offering training related to Intellectual Property Rights and modernization of their practices through workshops, seminars and brochures
- To do anthropological work so as to retrieve, document and store information pertaining to customs and traditional practices in traditional medicine.
- To promote non-clinical and toxicological studies aimed at determination of safety of herbal medicines and compounds with therapeutic potential
- To initiate and promote clinical trials on promising traditional medicines.
- To promote local production of already established herbal medicines and plant derived pharmaceuticals and help to reduce the burden on imports
- To enhance phytochemical and biological screening of potential medicinal materials in plants, animals and mineral substances.
- To promote community based cultivation of medicinal plants to supply materials for local production of herbal medicines and use this avenue as a strategy for poverty reduction.
The school of Nurse Teachers in collaboration with School of Nursing all operating under MUHAS are announcing a short course on Teaching Methodology for Educational and Health Care Professionals to be conducted at MUHAS from 
The Directorate of Library Services - MUHAS is announcing a short course on organization of knowledge: Classification, Cataloguing & Subject Analysis to be conducted at MUHAS from