United Republic of Tanzania News

Dar es Salaam - The newly designated Country Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Tanzania, Dr. Charles Sagoe-Moses, has presented his letter of credentials to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Hon. Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax (Mb.), on the start of his duty tour in Tanzania. Dr Sagoe- Moses’ appointment took effect from 6th June 2023.

Dar es Salam - Over the recent years, climate change and natural disasters have increased in frequency and severity. They arrest development and disrupt livelihoods.

The management of these risks is vital to protect people’s health from emergencies and disasters, to ensure local, national, and global health security, to attain Universal Health Coverage and to build the resilience of communities, countries, and health systems.

Arusha- The World Health Organization declared an end to COVID-19 pandemic as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) in May 2023 after the pandemic has been on a downward trend with increasing number of vaccinated populations in the world leading to fewer infections and deaths. But the need to reach everyone everywhere with COVID-19 vaccines persists.

The United Republic of Tanzania has been vulnerable to several disease outbreaks for decades. Recently, the country has faced several public health emergencies including COVID-19, Leptospirosis, Marburg, Measles, and Cholera. The reported cases of Ebola Virus Disease in the neighbouring countries have constantly threatened the lives of thousands of people in the country requiring strict measures and mechanisms to halt cross-border transmissions.

Kagera – The declaration of the end of the Marburg outbreak in Tanzania was received with a sigh of relief and ripples of excitement from the north to south and east to west of the Kagera region, the epicenter of the Marburg outbreak and the whole of Tanzania. Although the effective management and timely containment of the virus prevented its overspill to other regions, the outbreak came with a sense of fear and panic in the country.

Kigoma Region - In rural areas of Kigoma region in Tanzania, access to quality health services for pregnant women are constrained by distance, cost, unreliable diagnostic equipment, and inadequate transportation to referral hospitals. This has led to high numbers of maternal and perinatal deaths during pregnancy. 

Dar es Salaam - As the World battled the COVID-19 pandemic, communities, individuals and institutions, and national health authorities contended with an overabundance of right and wrong information. This aggravated because of top-notch advancement in information technology.

WHO defines infodemic as an overabundance of accurate and inaccurate information during epidemics which many times led too confusion and ultimately mistrust in governments and public health response.

Dar es Salaam- Tanzania marked the World Malaria Day on 25 April, with top leadership of the country showcasing commitment to uplift the agenda to end malaria by 2030. The Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa, representing the President at the commemorations in Dar es Salaam initiated the national End Malaria Council.   

Zanzibar -The World Health Organization in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Zanzibar, has trained 56 rapid responders in Zanzibar to effectively respond to public health emergencies in the islands and beyond. This is part of the effort to ensure that each African country is equipped with knowledge and skills to respond to public health emergencies within 24 to 48 hours of an incident.