Tanzania
Healthcare provision for rural populations is still inadequate in East Africa’s largest country. SolidarMed is therefore working to promote access to healthcare services in remote areas, protect people from diseases like tuberculosis, and improve newborn survival rates.
A lack of access to medical care in rural Tanzania
Almost one in seven people In Tanzania lives in poverty. The state lacks the resources to maintain an adequate and functioning health system. Rural areas in particular are lacking healthcare workers and the necessary infrastructure. SolidarMed is working in the Morogoro region to provide over a million people with access to better medical care.
Tanzania in numbers
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Maternal mortality
524 deaths per 100,000 live births (Switzerland: 5)
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Under-5 mortality rate
49 deaths per 1,000 live births (Switzerland: 4)
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HIV prevalence in the adult population
4.5%
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Doctors per 10,000 population
0.5 (Switzerland: 44)
Tanzania in numbers
Tanzania
SolidarMed in Tanzania
In Tanzania, SolidarMed is improving access to high-quality healthcare for the public in three districts and the regional capital, Morogoro. The focus is on basic and further training for healthcare workers, infrastructure measures, the purchase of medical equipment, and mobile clinics in remote communities.
A safe and positive start in life
Too many newborn babies still die in Tanzania from preventable causes. SolidarMed is investing in a targeted manner in the quality of health centres and hospitals. We train and coach staff, provide the necessary equipment and infrastructure, and enable follow-up home visits for babies born prematurely. This means that even in rural areas, patients can access medically supervised births and professional care for newborns and mothers. This considerably reduces the risk of mothers and their newborns dying as a result of birth-related complications. A scientific study will help to identify the most effective measures.
Community health workers (lay volunteers, midwives from the communities) are trained in accordance with the national education programme. As members of the community, they are well accepted and support the sharing of knowledge within the village community.
Healthcare in remote communities
The rural district of Malinyi is one of the poorest regions in Tanzania. Many people practise subsistence agriculture and live a long way from a health centre. SolidarMed works with mobile health teams to educate this medically underserved population group about health and prevention and to provide treatment.
A focus on adolescents
Many adolescents in Tanzania avoid using sexual and reproductive health services. This is mainly due to a lack of knowledge and a lack of health services specifically tailored to young people. This presents a major health risk. SolidarMed aims to improve this situation by focusing on youth-friendly counselling, diagnosis and treatment by trained staff, and mobile clinics. Targeted knowledge transfer and sharing activities also aim to provide adolescents with access to information. The activities are realised in partnership with Enfants du Monde and the adolescents, parents and local authorities are systematically involved in the planning and implementation work.
Kontakt
Karolin Pfeiffer MD MPH
Programme Tanzania
Tel. +41 41 310 66 60
k.pfeiffer@solidarmed.ch
Projects in Tanzania
SolidarMed cares for the health of newborns, adolescents and new mothers. SolidarMed invests specifically in the local health system, especially in the education and training of medical staff and the expansion of infrastructure.
Partner
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
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Grand Challenges Canada
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Ifakara Health Institute
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