Tanzania Promises To Tackle Infant And Maternal Mortality

The Tanzanian Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Haji Mponda has vowed to reduce infant and maternal mortality in order to achieve Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The minister promised to reduce infant and maternal deaths by improving the health sector. It can be noted that Tanzania is still lagging behind other East African nations in terms of achieving the MDGs. According to UNICEF, the under-one infant mortality rate declined to 67 per 1000 live births in 2008 from 97 per 1000 live births in 1990. But the rate is still high compared to other nations.

-Nisha Noor

SOURCE: FIGO

READing from UK to Uganda

The award winning recycling charity called READ International has shipped its largest its largest shipment of reference and textbooks to Uganda from the UK. 33,000 books have been sent to schools in Uganda and Tanzania. Since 2006, the charity organization has been improving access to education across the region through the donation of over 1.3 million books.

The way it works: READ has many drop off boxes where people can drop their books off. Books can also be gathered from nearby secondary schools which are then sorted to make sure only relevant books are sent. All books that are not sent are sold online to cover the cost of shipping the book to Uganda and Tanzania. This simple and low cost model is what has made READ so successful. Through a number of key partnerships, the cost of shipping these books are very low (almost 50 pence each!)

All the books are written in English. The UK and both Uganda and Tanzania follow the secondary school system. The books that are sent almost mirror the classes that are taught in the UK and are perfect.

You can contact READ International at:
Contact: READ International,
Vintage House, 37 Albert Embankment, Vauxhall, London, SE1 7TL
Telephone: +44 (0)20 3031 9116
Website: www.readinternational.org.uk

-Shereen Alibhai

SOURCE: Positive News

African Development Bank Gives Tanzania Money for Water

On September 15, the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved $98 million to go towards a Tanzanian program focused on increasing rural water supplies. Tanzania's long-term development plan was implemented to meet the MDGs in 2001. The first phase of the water project is already completed. It provided 8,250 operational water points serving 1.9 million people. Another part of the program involved building 370 demonstration latrines, through which 1.5 million people were educated about sanitation and hygiene.

The program is designed to sustainably improve health and quality of life for rural Tanzanians. Before implementation, half of all Tanzanians did not have access to a safe water supply. Those who did often had to walk long distances, negatively impacting economic development. Tanzania's aggressive program will reduce the spread of waterborne illness, help with poverty eradication, provide safe drinking water to almost 5 million people, and 10 million will benefit from the sanitation and hygiene program. Go Tanzania!

-Erica Stetz

SOURCE: African Development Bank

Tanzania Works Toward Gender Equality

As election season draws near in Tanzania, the UN is taking steps to empower under-represented female candidates. In preparation for the October trip to the polls, the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) is offering workshops that focus on public speaking, campaign planning, community mobilization, media engagement, lobbying and advocacy.

In 2005, during the last general election only 17 of the 232 contested parliamentary seats were held by women, even though the nation's Constitution allocates 30 percent of such seats for females. Ni Sha, one of UNIFEM's Deputy Regional Programme Directors believes that it is time for women and men to "join hands to promote equal representation, participation and leadership of women in the political processes and representative institutions." UNIFEM is also working with journalists across the country to ensure that women receive adequate campaign coverage leading up to election day.

With the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) deadline only a few years away, this program demonstrates Tanzania's efforts to achieve Goal Three, which is to promote gender equality and empower women.

-Devynn Patterson

Source: "Female candidates in upcoming Tanzanian polls to receive UN election training"-UN News Centre

Tanzania Declares All-Out War Against Malaria

Tanzania's health ministry and health partners in the private sector are joining forces to bring malaria under control by launching a nationwide anti-malaria campaign that states that every Tanzanian must be involved in this effort.

Sponsors of the anti-malaria campaign in Tanzania include the US President Malaria Initiative, the Global Fund for the Fight against HIV, Malaria No More, as well as many businesses from the Tanzanian private sector.

The partnerships aims to increase preventative measures by distributing insecticide treated bed nets as well as indoor spraying of all building and homes with insecticide.

- Tiffanie Depew

SOURCE: Afriquejet

New Ferries for Lake Victoria

Two nonprofits, EarthWise Ventures and Pilgrim Uganda, are teaming up to bring dependable ferries to Africa’s largest lake, Lake Victoria. The lake borders Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. The current ferry system is unreliable and it can take days to drive around on the poor roads.

Rob Smith, who is heading the construction of the ferries in Everett, grew up in South Africa and started EarthWise Ventures to help in Africa’s development. He is currently finishing the first ferry, which is a 65-foot-long catamaran designed to hold 200 passengers. Each ferry costs $1.2 million to make and Smith has a goal of raising $2.4 million before shipping his first ferry in pieces to Uganda. This start up capital will pave the way for him to eventually build 10 ferries for Lake Victoria.

Calvin Echodu and his organization Pilgrim Uganda will set up the ferry service and charge a fee of $25 per trip, which is equal to the current bus fare around the lake. The profits will fund the new boats that Smith has designed.
--Jessica Milstead

Source: seattletimes.com

Meeting Clean Water Needs in Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam faces many of the same development challenges as cities throughout Africa. Finding enough water is difficult since the city lacks sufficient infrastructure to continuously pump water to a city of 3 million. Most residents have to pay for water at a rate of 250 Tanzania shillings per 20-liter container. While this amounts to only 18 cents in the U.S., it represents a significant proportion of income for the majority of the population who live on less than $40 a month. Many people are forced to dig shallow wells for water, but these are unsanitary and lead to health problems.

The population growth has recently made the situation worse. While there are two water supply plants on the rivers that flow into the Indian Ocean, they can only output around 100,000 cubic meters each day. A city this large would require around 450,000 cubic meters of water per day.

Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Authority (DAWASA) has plans to increase supply by developing underground aquifers and expanding the river treatment plants. Nelly Msuya, a DAWASA spokesperson, explains, "It is true that there is a great challenge in the provision of water services in the city through our infrastructure." Nevertheless, DAWASA is committed to improving access to clean water in Tanzania. Call your senators and ask them to cosponsor the Water for the World Act to help people access clean water throughout the world.
--Jessica Milstead

Source: AllAfrica.com

Increased Food Security in Tanzania

Thanks to beneficial weather in Tanzania, crop production this year is expected to increase by 600,000 tons from last year for a total of 11.5 million metric tons. However, this is still not a surplus and farmers will not be able to export their crops for a profit. Though the increased production did help the local economy by allowing inflation to fall by 1.6 percent, leaving it at the current rate of 10.7 percent.

Tanzania’s Agriculture Minister, Steven Wassira, explains that while the weather helped with this season’s crops, drought-resistant crops still need to be developed to allow for a surplus. Currently, they are focusing on growing millet, sweet potatoes and cowpeas, which are hardy crops that are successful in the drier regions. The Ministry of Agriculture is also educating farmers on modern crop storage and other profitable techniques. A World Bank Loan of $90 million is currently subsidizing the needs of farmers to increase food security in Tanzania. The United States could help other countries implement programs such as this with the Global Food Security Act.
-Jessica Milstead