The Simavi-Tanga project for self-help in health. An assessment of a comprehensive primary health care programme.

Primary Health Care (PHC) is the major strategy for achieving the goal of Health for All. Lessons are to be learnt from a variety of experiences. The Simavi-Tanga project for self-help in Health is a comprehensive PHC-project with a limited input of external financial and advisory assistance. The short term outcome in terms of effectiveness and efficiency does not differ essentially from comparable Tanzanian projects with a higher degree of external input. The main limiting factors with regard to effectiveness and efficiency proved to be the insufficient preparation phase, limited commitment of some and the inappropriate use of human resources. This paper describes the results and constraints. Some recommendations are given to overcome these constraints.