Wafanyakazi wa NBC waadhimisha Siku ya Moyo Duniani

Baadhi ya wafanyakazi wa Benki ya Taifa ya Biashara (NBC) wakianza matembezi ya hisani ya takribani Kilomita 10 jijini Dar es Salaam ikiwa ni moja ya matukio ya benki hiyo kudhimisha Siku ya Moyo Duniani ambapo kiasi cha pesa watakachochangisha kitapelekwa katika Hospitali ya Taifa Muhimbili (MNH) kusaidia watoto na vijana wanaosumbuliwa na matatizo ya ugonjwa wa moyo. Siku ya Moyo Duniani huadhimishwa kimataifa Septemba 29 kila mwaka.

Baadhi ya wafanyakazi hao wakipita katika barabara ya Ocean Road kulekea maeoneo ya Coco Beach wakitokea makao makuu ya beni hiyo katika Tawi la Corporate, Posta Mpya.

Wafanyakazi hawa wa NBC wakiendelea na matembezi hayo ili kupata fedha kusaidia watoto na vijana wanaosumbuliwa na magonjwa ya moyo.

 Baada ya kumaliza matembezi hayo wafanyakazi hao wakipiga picha ya pamoja kuonyesha ushindi na mshikamano wao katika kusaidia watoto na vijana wanaosumbuliwa na matatizo ya magonjwa ya moyo.  

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Is the world a better place for children?

Press release

Looking ahead to the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on November 20, UNICEF today released new trend data and essays that ask a critical question: “Is the world a better place for children?”

The answer, the UNICEF analyses show, is undeniably “Yes!” A baby born in 2014 has a dramatically improved chance of living to see its fifth birthday. Children today are far likelier to go to primary school than they were in 1989. The number of children aged 5-17 involved in child labour has declined by almost one third since 2000.

But the analyses also show that progress has passed over millions of children – particularly the poor, those who belong to ethnic minorities, who live in rural areas, or those with disabilities.

Millions of children continue to be deprived of essential services that could reduce their vulnerability to disease and under-nutrition, provide them with access to improved water and sanitation, and allow them to obtain a quality education. A disproportionate number of children still live in extreme poverty. And the gap between the highest- and lowest-income households also remains – children from the poorest households have notably higher rates of child mortality and stunting than their richer counterparts.

“The trend data show that globally a child born today is far more likely to survive and thrive than they were 25 years ago. But they also show that in every country and region in the world, many children are being left behind,” said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Yoka Brandt at a children’s forum hosted by Columbia University’s Earth Institute. “To fulfil the promise of the Convention, we need to challenge ourselves to think and act differently to advance the rights of every child, especially the most marginalised and hardest to reach.”

The data and essays show that challenges facing children today have also changed.

Although the number of armed conflicts around the world has decreased from a peak of 52 in 1991, the character of these conflicts has changed. Protracted intra-state hostilities that impact more significantly on civilians, especially children, are now the norm. Children are bearing the brunt of the effects of man-made climate change while the AIDS pandemic, relatively unknown in 1989, has impacted heavily on children, leaving millions orphaned and infected with HIV. Information technology has also had a transformative effect on children: enabling them to communicate beyond their immediate community but also exposing them to online harassment and exploitation.

More positively, the international landscape for children has improved significantly since 1989, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been instrumental in this. It became the fastest and most widely adopted human rights treaty in history and it’s almost universal ratification shows unparalleled agreement among nations.

“Twenty-five years ago, the Convention inspired all of us to envision and realise a more just world for children. Our collective challenge now is to reach the children who have been left behind. The promise – and the challenge – of the CRC is its universality – it is for every child,” Brandt said.

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UNAIDS appoints Victoria Beckham as International Goodwill Ambassador

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has appointed leading fashion designer Victoria Beckham as UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador. The announcement was made at a special event held during the 69th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

“I dream of a generation free from HIV and I know that Victoria’s support will help us to achieve this shared goal,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Her creativity, innovation and outreach will amplify our efforts and bring us one important step closer towards ending the AIDS epidemic.”

In her new role as an Ambassador for UNAIDS Mrs Beckham will work towards ensuring that all children are born free from HIV and that children and women who are living with and affected by HIV have access to medicines and care. 

“This is the beginning of an important journey for me. As a woman and a mother I have a responsibility to support other women,” said Mrs Beckham. “I am proud and honoured to be working with UNAIDS in this new role to help to raise resources and awareness to support and empower women and children affected by HIV.”

In February this year Ms Beckham visited HIV clinics in Cape Town, South Africa, where she learned about the importance of antiretroviral therapy and about how children are being left behind in accessing treatment.

Antiretroviral therapy can reduce the risk of a mother living with HIV passing the virus to her child to below 5%. However, in 2013, one third of pregnant women living with HIV did not have access to the life-saving medicines and 240 000 children became infected with HIV.

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World Heart Day 2014: salt reduction saves lives

WHO is calling on countries to take action on the overuse of salt by implementing WHO’s sodium reduction recommendations to cut the number of people experiencing heart disease and stroke, and, in turn, save lives.

Target: 30% salt reduction by 2025

Noncommunicable diseases, including heart disease and stroke, are the leading causes of premature death in the 21st century. WHO is supporting governments to implement the "Global action plan to reduce noncommunicable diseases" that comprises nine global targets, including one to reduce global salt intake by a relative 30% by 2025.

“If the target to reduce salt by 30% globally by 2025 is achieved, millions of lives can be saved from heart disease, stroke and related conditions,” says Dr Oleg Chestnov, WHO Assistant Director-General for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health.

The main source of sodium in our diet is salt. It can come from sodium glutamate and sodium chloride, and is used as a condiment in many parts of the world. In many countries, 80% of salt intake comes from processed foods such as bread, cheese, bottled sauces, cured meats and ready-made meals.

Increased risk of hypertension/high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke risks

Consuming too much salt can lead (or contribute) to hypertension, or high blood pressure, and greatly increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

On average, people consume around 10 grams of salt per day. This is around double WHO’s recommended level from all sources, including processed foods, ready-made meals and food prepared at home (less than 5 grams or under one teaspoon per day). WHO recommends that children aged 2 to 15 years consume even less salt than this, adjusted to their energy requirements for growth.

“Salt is in almost everything we eat, either because high levels of salt are found in most processed and prepared foods, or because we are adding salt when we prepare food at home,” adds Dr Chestnov.

Dr Chestnov said that reducing salt intake is one of the most effective ways for countries to improve population health, and urged the food industry to work closely with WHO and national governments to incrementally reduce the level of salt in food products.

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Wealthy to foot health bill of poor- UN Report

By Songa wa Songa 

Well-off people in Tanzania and other developing countries will be taxed to fund universal health insurance for the poor who pay their hospital bills out-of-pocket, if a proposal by the United Nations launched here yesterday is adopted.

According to ‘Universal Health Coverage: A Commitment to close the gap’, Universal Health Coverage (UHC)—ensuring that all people obtain the health services they need, of good quality without suffering financial hardship when paying for them, is rooted in the human right to health that governments are obliged to fulfill.

“It aims to ensure access to good quality health services based on need, not on the ability to pay or other social attributes,” reads the report in part: “It seeks to reduce the financial hardships caused by reliance on ineffectual health systems, the volatility of markets and having to pay fees at the point of use.”

Authors of the report argue that each year, 150 million people face financial catastrophe and another 100 million are pushed into poverty due to high out-of-pocket Spending (OOPS) on healthcare—which is termed in the report as the most regressive form of health financing.

And as countries design health system reforms in the post-2015 framework, the report stresses that it is critical that the poor and vulnerable benefit first alongside the increase of funding for the health sector. “This will require the elimination of OOPS, at least for vulnerable populations and priority services, with greater reliance on mandatory mechanisms for prepayment from taxation, whereby contributions are made according to ability to pay and disassociated from healthcare needs,” the report recommends.

The report launched at Rockefeller Foundation, is based on a 2012 UN resolution to make UHC a key global health objective and the foundation which began advocating for its endorsement since 2009 has so far invested $100 million in the course.

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STUDENTS GET 100% SCHOLARSHIPS OPPORTUNITIES

Abbas Abraham PR Officer SBL and Hawa Ladha Sustainability and Responsibility Manager speaking to journalist about the EABL Foundation Scholarships. The Scholarship deadline is September 30​, 2014. 

Serengeti Breweries (SBL) through the EABL Foundation project, this year again is providing full scholarship opportunities to university students to cover fees, accommodation and monthly subsistence.

This year, the project will provide funding for the study Bachelor degree in business, engineering, food science, communication and computer technologies to students to needy students who have passed their secondary education and cannot afford to pay for their university education.

Sustainability and Responsibility Manager Ms. Hawa Ladha said the funding which takes place once a year is available to all needy students who want to study in universities in the country. "Students who have met all parameters for the scholarships will be empowered to meet and succeed in their goals," she said

She added the unique opportunity is only open for  Tanzanian needy students  who have passed their A Levels exams and whose parents can not afford to pay for their university education.  “We received a number of applications yet we believe there are many more students who can benefit from this opportunity.  We urged students to take this opportunity to fill the applications which is available in the press and also visit the website www.eablfoundation.com before the deadline of 30^thSeptember 2014” she said.

The submission application must include: University Admission letter, copies of advance secondary and secondary education results and school leaving certificates, completed application form  and documentation showing financial neediness. Also needy students who have passed their exams but have not received their university admission letters are encouraged to apply. For more information students have been advised to use social networking to visit the site of www.eablfoundation.com

The EABL foundation Scholarship programme started in 2005 and has sponsored over 200 students from East Africa. In Tanzania alone over 22 pupils have already been sponsored to date and are working in various organisations in the country.

EABL Foundation project provides scholarships worth  39,600,000 million each year and to date has spent over 316,800,000 million for eight years  in Tanzania only.

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CGI and the defining 'struggle' of our times

Bill Clinton during the “Reimagining Impact” opening plenary at the 2014 CGI annual meeting in New York on Monday. Photo by: Paul Morse / Clinton Global Initiative

Bill Clinton is in a reflective mood. This week, with his wife and daughter at his side, the 42nd president of the United States is hosting the 10th meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York.

With Hillary preparing to announce whether she’ll seek the U.S. presidency in 2016 and Chelsea taking a greater role in the family foundation’s affairs, all signs point toward change. Unwavering, though, is the former president’s verve for frank discourse and triangulation, and for creating strange bedfellow coalitions to tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

“This year, we’re going to try to reimagine what it means to have an impact and see how we can do more, based on the comprehensive information that has been collected and analyzed about the commitments that have been made over the last 10 years,” Clinton told a select group of reporters in an exclusive interview ahead of #CGI2014.

To a large degree, CGI’s data mirrors broader trends at the intersection of business and development: the shift from advocacy and financial commitments toward more direct interventions such as building capacity and providing access to capital, education and information. The proliferation of multistakeholder, cross-sector partnerships. And the increase of long-term commitments in sustainable solutions instead of short-term relief.

“Cross-sector partnerships have a very high success rate,” Clinton said, calling the sight of ever-larger groups of people working together to right wrongs “encouraging.”

The majority of commitments made by CGI members over the past few years were focused on the United States, India, Kenya and Brazil. But Clinton’s eager to break new ground. He wants to do more to encourage entrepreneurship in Central Africa, fight HIV and AIDS beyond Africa — in Latin America and Eastern Europe, for instance — and focus clean energy projects not just on the areas with the most emissions, but also on those with the highest potential for renewables.

The private sector will be key to all of these efforts, Clinton suggested. Corporations like Coca- cola and Procter & Gamble Co., he said, have come to realize that “inequality isn’t sustainable” and that those at the bottom of the pyramid represent an untapped market.

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Tanzania Wants to Make CSR Compulsory

The government plans to introduce a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Act.  This will encourage businesses, including multinational corporations, to contribute to community projects.  Currently the choice is largely left up to the companies themselves.

NGOs are also contributing goods and funds to various communities projects through CSR at their own will.

Speaking during the two days training workshop on Tax reporting to reporters last week in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Manager Tax Payers Service and Education, Diana Masalla said the government is looking forward to introducing a law on CSR to ensure that corporate companies are contributing to social wellbeing of the people.

"There is ongoing discussion in the government on how the best way to handle the CSR act that will be useful to the country and the social wellbeing of the people in Tanzania," she said.

In Tanzania, firms from various sectors such as energy, gas, mineral, oil and financial services, set aside a certain percentage from their annual profits for CSR.

She said the enacted laws will regulate the CSR and pave the way for the government to evaluate companies' profits and their contributions to CSR annually but with long term plans to develop mutual relationship between firms and communities across the country.

Couple of years, Tanzania Consumer Advocacy Society had conducted a Consumer Survey that revealed the level of consumer awareness in Tanzania particularly on consumers' rights, perception and attitudes with respect to businesses' accountability and responsiveness to consumers' needs and interests in Tanzania.

The survey was conducted in five regions in Tanzania Mainland - Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Coastal Region, and Mwanza.

Survey revealed that there is very low Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Tanzania Consumer.

The survey revealed that there is poor public transportation system which is characterised by: congestion and delays; uncomfortable travelling conditions; poor vehicle condition; poor customer services; increased road accidents.

And in most cases there is none or slow action towards genuine complaints- over inflated bills, poor products, professional misconduct and delay on installation of service on water and power.

On the other hand; the market is full of cheating on weights and measurements; there is a lot of under-weights of goods from retail shops, butchery, hardware-cement etc and also there is poor calibration and adulteration for food like cow milk and gasoline at fuel station.

Presence of counterfeit goods which are not durable, poor in quality, unsafe, false labeling and changing of expiry date on products- food, cosmetics and medicine is on the raise. It is believed that 40% of the products in Tanzania markets are counterfeits.

Other notified forms of unethical business conducts such are;- claiming that products are new while they are not- like some of mobile phones on sale in most of the shops in Tanzania.

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Schools to Get Capitation Grants Directly

The government will start paying capitation grants directly to secondary school accounts instead of the previous system where it was paid into council accounts.

This was revealed by the Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Dr Shukuru Kawambwa, in a public rally presided over by Chama Cha Mapinduzi Secretary General, Mr Abdulrahman Kinana, who is in Bagamoyo District inspecting implementation of the party's development programme.

Dr Kawambwa said that starting next month; the Ministry of Finance will deposit capitation grants into school accounts. "I am keen on curbing cheating in the education sector, especially with money...we have started a new system of paying capitation grants directly into school accounts, starting next month," he explained.

Dr Kawambwa said that the money will now be handled by the schools themselves, removing the bureaucracy which wasted a lot of schools' time, when accessing the money from the councils," he added.

He said that in the Education Development Plan, the government plans to award 25,000/- to each secondary school student and 10 US dollars to each primary school pupil.

He added that the previous system of depositing the money into councils accounts' accounts brought up a lot of complaints, of money arriving late and some schools receiving less amount.

Speaking on the implementation of CCM manifesto, Dr Kawambwa said work on distribution of water in Bagamoyo is slow due to laxity of contractors and consultants.

"The government has been allocating a lot of money for water projects, but a lot of these projects in Bagamoyo have not been successful due to negligence of contractors and consultants," he explained, adding that due to the negligence, water projects that have been completed have no running water.

On a positive note, the minister said his constituency has been successful in ensuring there are secondary and primary schools in all the 22 wards.

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U.N. summit: Europe touts 40% carbon cut goal

 At the U.N. Climate Summit, the European Commission will formally recommend a 40% cut in heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 for its 28 member countries, its president said Monday.

"It's ambitious, but I believe it's achievable," EC President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a USA TODAY interview in advance of Tuesday's summit. He said he's confident that Europe's countries, which have been slashing emissions, will approve this new reduction — from 1990 levels — at a meeting next month.

Leaders of more than 120 countries, including President Obama, will announce their efforts to fight global warming — as will many major companies — at what's expected to be the largest climate meeting ever. Their pledges aim to build momentum for a new global climate accord to be announced next year during U.N. climate talks in Paris.

The one-day summit, preceded by a historic march that drew tens of thousands of climate activists to Manhattan streets Sunday, comes as scientists report that global greenhouse gas emissions rose 2.3% last year to record levels. In the U.S., after several recent years of decline, they rose 2.9%.

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UN, UNDP seek commitment to promote gender equality

The United Nations through UNDP and UN Women yesterday sought high level commitment from key institutions of democracy in Tanzania in promoting gender equality and inclusion of youth and persons living with disabilities (PWDs) across the political and electoral processes.

The UN is also calling for inclusive elections, where all those eligible and interested have the opportunity to participate in electoral processes as voters and as candidates is central to democracy. 

 The UN stand was made at an ongoing two day workshop that has brought together leaders of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC), Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (RPP), the Tanzania Police Force and the Judiciary to agree on how to achieve this. It was the general consensus that, despite the country’s track record in promoting the rights of women, young people and marginalized groups to enjoy equal status with other citizens and the fact that Tanzania is signatory to key international protocols that promote equality, the country still has a long way to go to achieve equal opportunities for women, the youth and persons living with disabilities. 

Philippe Poinsot, UNDP Country Director said one of the key challenges faced by women is lack of access to finances to campaign for elections along with discrimination based on socio-cultural prejudices.  “Youth and PWDs face similar challenges and these account for their low representation in decision making processes,” he said. 

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Kikwete: Why Tanzania still performs poorly in economy

The citizen 

President Jakaya Kikwete deliverers a keynote speech at the USAID Frontiers in Development Forum: Ending Extreme Poverty at the Reagan Building in Washington DC on yesterday

President Jakaya Kikwete has blamed economic policies Tanzania adopted after independence for bad economic performance of the country.

He said it was one of the factors that has put Tanzania in the category of Less Developed Countries (LDCs) since the classification begun in the 1970s.

Delivering his keynote speech on Thursday in Washington DC at USaid forum on ‘Frontiers in Development: Ending Extreme Poverty’, the President said the ideology held dear by the founding father of the nation Mwalimu Julius Nyerere failed to deliver.

Stating why 33 out of 48 World’s Least Developed Countries are in Africa, the President said majority of the countries (25) are victims of conflicts but some like Tanzania have enjoyed political stability and are still in the LCD bracket something he said in his view is a function of the economic policies pursued, in the first two and half decades since independence.

“My dear country Tanzania is a typical example of a country that enjoyed uninterrupted peace and stability since independence yet we are one of the LDCs from 1971 when the classification started. Besides a hostile global environment, economic policies pursued soon after independence which did not succeed has a big hand in this state of affairs,” said President Kikwete.

The President told the participants of the forum including the Vice President of World Bank, Mr Mark Diop, and the USaid administrator, Dr Rajiv Shah, that the economic outlook began to change after the introduction of economic reforms from the 1980s.

“We have stayed the cause of reforms ever since with remarkable success. The country is now enjoying strong macro-economic performance with the last decade being exceptionally successful. Overall economic growth has increased from an average of 3.5 per cent in the 1990s to the average of about 7 per cent over the last decade.”

President Kikwete, however, conceded that despite the growth, poverty reduction has not been correspondingly impressive. In the last two decades income poverty declined from 39 per cent in 1990 to 28.2 per cent in 2012, a decline of about 11 per cent.

“This explains why we will not be able to meet the MDG target of halving extreme poverty below the 1990 baseline by 2015.

However, we have been successful with regard to reducing by a half the proportion of population living below the national food poverty line. This declined from 21.6 per cent in 1990 to 9.7 per cent in 2012, a decline of about 12 per cent.”

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Tanzania’s public debt now reaches Sh30 trillion

The government did not borrow much at the start of the current financial year, but that was not enough to stop national liabilities swelling to a staggering Sh30 trillion at the end of July, further complicating an already distressed financial position.

The public debt was about Sh27 trillion at the end of last year, which means it has ballooned by about Sh3 trillion in less than a year. Official figures show that most of it has been incurred by the government, and state officials are spending sleepless nights trying to figure out how to deal with it.

The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) says the national debt has not reached alarming levels. But The Citizen on Saturday has reliably learnt that staff are burning the midnight oil daily to come up with strategies to convince lenders to reschedule part of it or even cancel it altogether.

“The total external debt stock as at July 2014 stood at $14,052.3 million (about Sh23.24 trillion) and government domestic debt stood at Sh6,760.9 billion,” the BoT chief economist and top policy researcher, Dr Joseph Masawe, said this week.  “While this level of debt appears high, our debt level is quite sustainable,”  he said.

Analyst Eric Mwakibete concurs. The biggest problem might not even lie in the ballooning of the public debt itself, but in the lack of mechanisms to stop the executive incurring more debt.  Mr Mwakibete adds: “As things stand now, the government isn’t restricted by any other organ or authority in its borrowing and bad spending habits. It is not accountable to fully justify some of that debt. There is no debt ceiling. And the public largely loses track of that growing debt.”

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is also not too worried by the swelling of the debt but calls for prudence in spending so the situation does not get out of control.

The IMF conservatively estimates that the public debt will rise to about Sh33.8 trillion by mid-2016. It could soar to nearly Sh42 trillion during 2017/18 if the borrowing appetite, which has mostly been caused by failure to generate enough revenue, continues unabated.

“Tanzania remains at low risk of external debt distress,” the IMF says in its July country report. “The public debt outlook is sustainable, assuming that economic growth remains strong and that the fiscal deficit gradually declines to 4–4.5 per cent of GDP over the medium term.” 

Fiscal experts have decried the trend for quite some time. They have warned that if the borrowing spree is not contained or better managed, the debt stress that had eased tremendously eight or so years ago will hit new heights in the not very distant future.

Unless conditions are created now to ensure there is enough money to pay the debts when they fall due, they argue, future generations will suffer most from the consequences of the current borrowing. Experts and activists are worried because considerable amounts of the credit is invested in recurrent expenditure. To make it worse, the debts are short-term and obtained from local commercial banks, which makes them more expensive.

“That calls for the contracted loans to be put in development investment instead of using the money on recurrent spending like paying salaries, buying diesel guzzling four-wheelers and similar luxuries,” says activist Jimmy Luhende of Mwanza.

Mr Mwakibete wants mechanisms put in place to check borrowing, including Parliament being notified every quarter of a financial year about our indebtedness. But assistant lecturer Saumu Jumanne of the Dar es Salaam University College of Education says she is not concerned so much about the size of the debt as how the money borrowed is spent.

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Sh92.4 billion project set to boost vocational training

A $57 million (Sh92.4 billion) project aimed at increasing access to technical and vocational education and training was launched yesterday.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) will finance 90 per cent ($52 billion) of the five-year Technical and Vocational Education and Training and Teacher Education (TVET) project through a soft loan with the government financing the remaining 10 per cent.

AfDB Resident Representative Tonia Kandiero, said at the launch that the project was expected to improve facilities at 13 institutions with a capacity of about 8,000 trainees. It will also entail the extensive use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at 53 institutions and increased capacity for teaching, policy formulation, planning and quality assurance in technical vocational education and teacher training.

“This is testimony of our contribution to human capital development as part of our support towards the transformation of Tanzania’s economy and sustainable growth,” said Ms Kandiero.

Ms Keiko Takei, education economist and task manager at AfDB, said the project would also entail the construction of vocational training centres in Geita, Njombe, Rukwa and Simiyu regions, which lack such colleges.

Under the programme, Tabora, Dakawa, Marangu, Butimba, Arusha Tech and Mpwapwa teachers training colleges will also benefit through improvement of their facilities.

Education and Vocational Training minister Dr Shukuru Kawambwa, said the launch of the TVET project was part of the wider Technical and Vocational Education and Training Development Programme (TVETDP), which was launched last year.

Dr Kawambwa added that he was hopeful the TVET programme would assist in bridging skills gaps and help the country to improve the quality of its human capital, which was critical for inclusive growth and poverty reduction.

“As of today, knowledge and advanced skills are critical determinants of a country’s economic growth and standard of living as learning outcomes are transformed into goods and services, higher institutional capacity and better investment climate,” he said.

However, Dr Kawambwa admitted that the provision of science and technology education in the country was seriously constrained by an acute shortage of secondary school teachers.

The shortage was particularly serious in rural areas where it was largely to blame for poor performance in national examinations.

Mr Boukary Savadogo, the education, science and technology manager at AfDB,  said there was a need to reassert strong ownership of the project by the country.

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Education can save lives, help reach sustainable development goals

A Classroom in Tanzania

If all women in poor countries completed primary education, child mortality would drop by one-sixth saving almost one million lives, the United Nations educational agency today reported highlighting the links between schooling and achieving a new set of sustainable development targets.

“The benefits of education permeate all walks of life right from the moment of birth,” said Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) which produced the “Global Monitoring Report.”

Calling education “the bedrock of sustainability,” she stressed that “we must work together across all development areas to make it a universal right.”

According to the UNESCO paper, the release of which coincides with the Tuesday opening of the high-level segment of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, education is critical to escape the cycle of poverty.

“Education is a fundamental right and the basis for progress in every country,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said. “Parents need information about health and nutrition if they are to give their children the start in life they deserve.”

Among the areas highlighted in the booklet, the authors note that education helps recognize early warning signs of illness in children, seek advice and act on it.

Education can also help prevent maternal death by helping women recognize danger signs, seek care and mare sure trained health workers are present at births.

If all women completed primary education, maternal death would be cut by two-thirds, saving 189,000 lives each year, according to UNESCO.

Poverty reduction is also linked to education, the UN agency reported. One year of education is equal to a 10 per cent wage increase, and stops the cycle of transmitting poverty between generations.

People with higher levels of education are also more likely to express concern for the environment. In 47 countries covered by the 2005–2008 World Values Survey, a person with secondary education was about 10 percentage points more likely to express such concern than a person with primary education.

UNESCO is appealing to all to sign up online saying they pledge to collaborate and work together in the future. The full list of signatories will be presented to the Secretary-General’s Advisor on Post-2015 Development Planning at the end of the General Assembly.

The international community is in the process of completing a new set of sustainable development targets to begin in 2016, following the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Poverty reduction, health and wellbeing, and environmental protection are among the newly proposed goals.

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Why Tanzanians ought to consume more milk

BY DANIEL SEMBERYA

Heifer International's Vice President and Chief Operating officer (COO) Steve Denne

As kids, most people heard phrases along the lines of "drink your milk so you'll grow big and strong!" While many people simply rolled their eyes and finished their milk so they could get to the good part (dessert!), the truth is that milk does provide valuable nutrients that kids need during their development.

 Consumption of milk and dairy products is associated with numerous health benefits. There are several benefits from drinking milk other than just ‘strong bones’.  These benefits come from milk products such as cheese, butter, cottage cheese, and flavored milk as well. Milk consumption is essential to maintaining good health and is a great source of calcium for all ages. Milk is the best source of calcium for our body. Calcium protects our bodies from bone loss, migraine headaches, and obesity in children and aids in losing unwanted fats.

It is essential to get the recommended amount of daily calcium intake in order to maintain strong bones and health benefits and prevent future health risks due to lack of calcium. However, despite all the above mentioned benefits of milk, findings show that Tanzania ranks third in East Africa in milk drinking, with per capita consumption of 45 litres per person annually against 130 litres and 80 litres for Kenya and Uganda respectively, due to low awareness on the nutritional importance of milk to the health of human beings.  

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Data on same sex relations are vital in HIV prevention efforts

                                                                  Cuthbert Maendaenda

Tanzania must step up measures to document the number of men having sex with other men (MSM) as part of its HIV prevention efforts, especially among the youth, health stakeholders have said warning that 70 per cent of new sexual infections occur among young men who have sex with other men, those in sex work and among drug abusers.

The call was made late last week at a three-day workshop on Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) held in Morogoro Region where Project Manager for Tanzania Men as Equal Partner (TMEP) Cuthbert Maendaenda revealed that the country has no data pertaining to MSM. The Project Manager for TMEP which is under the Swedish Association for Reproductive Health (RFSU)was presenting MSM World status which show that worldwide, an estimated 5 to 10 per cent of new HIV infections are caused by Men who have Sex with other Men (MSM). Despite that being the case, Maendaenda said in Tanzania, nothing has been recorded as to the number of men involved in MSM.  “On average, it is estimated that HIV infection rates amongst MSM are four to five times higher than the population overall,” he cautioned.He explained that, SRHR differentiates MSM from homosexuality the latter being a concept which recognises that men may have sexual experiences with other men without the act being part of their identity. “There are heterosexuals who have intercourse with same sex partners without being homosexual,” he detailed.   “What we see or hear from amongst inmates or in boys’ boarding schools is MSM, and not homosexuality,” he added pointing out that “…sexuality, gender roles play an important role in the spread of HIV as well as in care and support and other aspects of HIV/Aids.” 

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New data show child mortality rates falling faster than ever

New data released today by the United Nations show that under-five mortality rates have dropped by 49% between 1990 and 2013. The average annual reduction has accelerated – in some countries it has even tripled – but overall progress is still short of meeting the global target of a two-thirds decrease in under-five mortality by 2015.

New estimates in "Levels and Trends in Child Mortality 2014" show that in 2013, 6.3 million children under five died from mostly preventable causes, around 200 000 fewer than in 2012, but still equal to nearly 17 000 child deaths each day.

“There has been dramatic and accelerating progress in reducing mortality among children, and the data prove that success is possible even for poorly resourced countries,” said Mickey Chopra, head UNICEF’s of global health programmes. “There is now a gathering momentum from countries in every part of the world to make sure proven, cost-effective interventions are applied where they will save the most lives.”

In 2013, 2.8 million babies died within the first month of life, which represents about 44% of all under-five deaths. About two-thirds of these deaths occurred in just 10 countries. While the number of neo-natal deaths have declined, progress has been slower than for the overall under-five mortality rate.

In June this year, WHO, UNICEF and partners issued the first-ever global plan to end preventable newborn deaths and stillbirths by 2035. The Every Newborn Action Plan calls for all countries to take steps to provide basic, cost-effective health services – in particular around the time of childbirth, as well as for small and sick babies – and to improve the quality of care.

“The global community is poised to end preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths within a generation,” said Dr Flavia Bustreo, Assistant Director General at WHO. “We know what to do and we know how to do it. The challenge now is to move from plan to action – we are pleased to see countries like India beginning to lead the way.”

Among the report’s other major findings:

• Eight of the 60 countries identified as ‘high mortality countries’ – with at least 40 under-five deaths for every 1000 live births – have already reached or surpassed the MDG target (67% reduction). The countries are Malawi (72%), Bangladesh (71%), Liberia (71%), Tanzania (69%), Ethiopia (69%), Timor-Leste (68%), Niger (68%) and Eritrea (67%).

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