13/10/21

Q&A: Tanzania’s first female doctor sees big strides

mother speaks with the doctor
Mother speaks with the doctor to explain her daughter’s symptoms. Copyright:Rachel Chilton, USAID/Tanzania,美国政府工作

Speed read

  • ‘I want to be a role model’, says Tanzania’s first female physician
  • Trust in women doctors has increased in past 50 years
  • Access to healthcare remains a challenge for women in Tanzania

Send to a friend

The details you provide on this page will not be used to send unsolicited email, and will not be sold to a 3rd party. See privacy policy.

当她长大后e Tanzania’s first female physician in 1969, Esther Mwaikambo says people did not trust that a woman could be a doctor.

Among her many achievements, Mwaikambo established the Medical Women Association of Tanzania in 1987 to inspire and mentor young women to pursue medicine.

Mwaikambo tellsscidev.netshe aims to be a role model to young female doctors, as she begins writing books on child health and women’s roles in medicine.

Esther Mwaikambo Credit: Hubert Kairuki Memorial University

You were Tanzania’s first female doctor and you founded the Medical Women Association of Tanzania in 1987, part of whose mission is to mentor young women in the medical field. You have personally indicated a desire to see an increase in female doctors in Tanzania. Has this been achieved?

We have made very big strides on this. Women have been sensitised and we have seen an increase, year by year, of the number of females taking science subjects at high school. The number of female doctors in this country has been increasing substantially for the past ten to 20 years — really, it is impressive. The medical profession is very stressful for young women. However, as time has gone by, women have understood the importance of becoming a doctor. I would not say that we have arrived, but we are making progress. We are improving.

在东非,曾经有一种文化刻板印象,如果诊所中有一位女医生,就不会得到适当的治疗。这是您在社区中目睹的,这是否是让女医生在社区工作的障碍?

是的,很不幸的。这是以前的趋势,但我相信这几乎已经消失了。我记得当我在1969年成为一名医生的医生时,所有女人都不想作为医生来找我,因为她们没有看到或听说过女人是医生。他们总是把我当作护士或帮手向我讲话。逐渐地,当他们得知医生也可以成为女性时,许多人已经改变了[他们的意见]。女医生的数量正在增加……女医生比男性更受录取。[妇女]宁愿由女医生管理。

The World Health Organization says there was an almost 50 per cent reduction in female genital mutilation rates in Tanzania between 1996 and 2021. Do you feel your work contributed to this reduction?

Considering where we were coming from in 1996, when the campaigns against female genital mutilation started, I think we’ve made good progress. And it’s my opinion that our struggles made a substantial change. I’m proud of that. And it’s my hope that we will conquer, so that female genital mutilation continues to reduce.

您的职业生涯漫长而杰出,而且您的职业生涯仍然很强。你未来的计划是什么?

我必须承认,我的职业生涯非常有益,担任医生和儿科教授。这对我来说非常满意。我现在将成为一名名誉教授[退休教授的名誉]。我非常高兴地从自己的职位上退休,因为在我的工作期间,它一直很有意义。我的计划是在该行业中写书,尤其是在儿科和儿童健康中,并继续培养年轻的医生。对于这些年轻的女医生来说,有很多挑战和问题,所以我希望他们以我为榜样,同时也要阅读他们如何在这个职业中生活。因为这对他们来说是一个光荣的职业。

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.