The Role of Catholic Missionaries in Development of Health Services in Matengo Highlands from 1899-1961

This paper provides an in-depth examination of the role of Catholic missionaries in development of health services in Matengo highlands south-western of Tanzania from 1899 to 1961. The main objective of this study was to examine how the Catholic missionaries developed health services in Matengo highlands from 1899 to 1961 by tracing back to the arrival of the catholic missionaries in Matengo highlands, identifying and explaining the Catholic missionaries’ role in developing health services in Matengo highlands from 1899 to 1960. The study is based on historical design and qualitative approach. The study employed interview, documentary review and field survey in data collection. The study identifies that to the large extent, Catholic missionaries in Matengo highlands provided health services especially in rural areas where up to the end of colonial period the Matengo society had no hospitals or dispensaries apart from those established by the missionaries. The health services provided by Catholic missionaries consisted of preventive services like health education, training of midwives and vaccination and curative services like surgical and non-surgical treatments as well as nursing care activities. The paper reviews that missionary health services pioneered medical provision in the rural areas where the colonial state lacked enough resources to invest. Missionaries’ plans of developing health services in Matengo highlands was done in order to entice and bring on board the local people so that their objective could be achieved. The missionaries believed that through care of the sick, the Matengo’s hearts would be opened to see the goodwill of the missionaries to them and accept Christianity. Therefore, through this tactic, a lot of the Matengo people saw the goodwill of the missionaries to them and converted into Christianity. However, some of the Matengo converted to Christianity just to get social services from the missionaries but were practicing both traditional healing system and attending to the church and Hospitals. Moreover, despite the missionaries working so hard in provision of health services in Matengo highlands, the health services they provided were not able to meet the needs of all the Matengo population. Thus, this led to some of the Matengo to continue practicing their traditional healing systems as their primary health care.