Experience on healthcare utilization in seven administrative regions of Tanzania

Health care utilization in many developing countries including Tanzania is mainly through the use of traditional medicine (TRM); due to limited financial resources to cover conventional medicinal drugs, facilities and medical personnel. Also conventional health facilities are not available in most rural areas and urban slums [[1,2] and [3]]. Traditional medicine refers to health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being. The knowledge of traditional medicine has developed over generations within various societies before the era of conventional medicine [4]. However in recent years complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) practices have also emerged such as Homeopathy, Radionic, Magnetic and Chiropractic therapy. Complementary and Alternative Medicine practices may incorporate or base themselves on traditional medicine, folk knowledge, spiritual beliefs, or other approaches to healing [5]Despite the presence of conventional medicine, referred as scientific medicine, literature reviewed show that TRM is widely used and a rapidly growing health care system world wide. In Africa, for example, up to 80% of the population uses TRM to help meet their health care needs [2,3]. In Asia and Latin America, populations continue to use TRM as a result of historical circumstances and cultural beliefs. In China, TRM accounts for around 40% of all health care delivered [2,3]. In Tanzania current statistics show 60-70% of the population seek healthcare to practitioners from TRM [6,7] and more than 50% of child deliveries are attended by traditional birth attendants (TBAs) and relatives [3,8,9].There is also an increasing number of people using TRM from 427 million to 629 million far exceeding the total number of visits to primary health care centers [[10-13] and [14]]. The