The United Republic of Tanzania is among 11 countries that contribute 55 percent of new malaria cases globally according to WHO Malaria report published in 2018. The national HMIS data showed that malaria related deaths decreased from 20per1000 cases in 2014 to nine per 1000 cases in 2018. However, this has not taken Tanzania from the list of high burden countries.
“I have been a sewerage operator for more than 20 years now,” says Fundi Mzee, smiling as he leaves his office at the Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Authority premises for his weekly hunting expedition for polio.
A wooden boat sways idyllically in a marsh of the Malagarasi River where it begins from an eastern mouth of the great Lake Tanganyika, Africa’s deepest lake and the world’s longest lake. Along the river, muscled men pull loaded bicycles under the scorching sun. This port in Ilagala village in Kigoma Region idles in daytime and bustles with activity at night.
The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains precarious, with infection transmissions continuing to occur in communities and health facilities. As of 23 July 2019 a total of 2,612 and 1, 756 deaths have been recorded. Although the number of cases have remained constant its geographical spread to Goma is of concern. As such, the United Republic of Tanzania remains at risk of cross-border transmission of Ebola, because it borders and has significant human traffic with the DRC
WHO recently participated in the 7th Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) Scientific Conference organized under the theme Health Research and Innovation for Sustainable Economic development. Event gathered researchers, medical practitioners and health professionals - local and international working in various areas of health to share their research findings with other stakeholders.
One of the areas that needs to catch up in the fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is laboratory services. A lack of investment, insufficient technical assistance and a shortage of diagnostic tools pose a challenge to the scale-up of interventions, particularly in WHO’s African Region.
