Comparative Analysis of the Healthcare Systems of Tanzania and Nigeria Using the Six World Health Organization Building Blocks

A health system is a network of institutions, people, organizations, as well as resources aimed at delivering health care. We conducted an extensive review of the literature using Google Scholar and PubMed to identify relevant peer-reviewed articles, reports, and policy documents published from 2000 to date. Keywords such as “health systems,” “Tanzania,” “Nigeria,” “World Health Organization (WHO) building blocks,” “health service delivery,” “health financing,” and “access to essential medicines” were used. Inclusion criteria were defined to ensure the selection of articles that provided insights into the six WHO building blocks: Health service delivery, leadership/governance, access to essential medicines, health information systems, health financing, and health workforce. Appraising and analyzing the current state of their health systems, we found several similarities and some peculiarities contributing to the success and poor delivery of health. The probable causes of the inefficiencies were analyzed, and recommendations and strategies targeted at improving the current state of the health systems of Tanzania and Nigeria were suggested. Comparing the health systems of the two countries has highlighted some strengths that each nation can adopt to improve healthcare delivery, as well as identified multiple weaknesses that require attention to ensure the provision of high-quality care across both systems.