Zanzibar has put an end to free public health care services that have operated for more than four decades in hope of improving the services with financial contributions from the public. 

Yet children under five, pregnant women, the disabled and HIV/ AIDS patients have been exempted from paying for their visits to health centers and clinics, according to reports reaching here on Saturday.
 
The local authorities will also heed the World Health Organization advice that diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy and other communicable diseases be treated free of charge. 

Residents on the Indian Ocean archipelago started to pay for their health services on Friday, after members on the Zanzibar House of Representatives had passed into law a bill that requires the public to contribute money to the improvement of public health services.
 
People now have to pay 500 Tanzanian shillings (0.4 US dollars) to get admitted for a hospital or clinic visit while surgeries will be charged between 80,000 and 100,000 shillings (64- 80 dollars).