Friday, October 16, 2015

Govt rolls out birth registration by mobile phone

Tanzania has launched a nationwide drive to help parents register their children's births by mobile phone so the government can better plan health, education and other public services.

The new system being rolled out across the country over the next five years allows a health worker to send the baby's name, sex, date of birth and family details by phone to a central data base and a birth certificate is issued free of charge in days.

The initiative is run by the government registration agency RITA, UNICEF and telecommunications company Tigo.

RITA's acting head Emmy Hudson said the project had accelerated birth registration after years of stagnation.

The country has one of the lowest rates of birth registration in eastern and southern Africa. Some 80 percent of Tanzanians - and more than nine in 10 under-fives - do not have birth certificates, according to the 2012 census.

Parents have to pay 3,500 Tanzanian shillings ($1.6) if they request a birth certificate within 90 days of a child's birth, or 4,000 shillings afterwards, as well as travel costs - a high price in a country where many rural people live on less than $1 a day.

The government expects to register about a million children under the age of five before the end of this year, and 90 per cent of all newborns within the next five years.

Anna Mbelwa, who gave birth to a baby boy at Mbalizi Hospital in the southern Mbeya Region this month, said the initiative made a big difference.
"I was very impressed because it usually takes a long time to get a birth certificate," Mbelwa told Reuters news agency.

"It was very inconvenient before since parents had to travel a long distance to the district registrar only to be told their children's files were missing." Mbelwa added.

Most parents in rural areas of Tanzania do not register their children because of the steep cost, long distances to registry offices, cumbersome process and lack of awareness of the benefits.

Globally, around 290 million children do not possess a birth certificate, according to UNICEF.

RITA was officially launched on the 23rd June 2006 and replaces what was known as the Administrator Generals Department in the Attorney Generals Chambers, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

It is an Executive Agency under the Attorney Generals Chambers in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

The history of RITA dates back in 1917 when the German Colonial power enacted a law for registration of births and deaths (Proclamation No.15 of 1917 (Civil Area).

When the British took over the administration of Tanganyika (Tanzania Mainland) from the Germans retained the Register of births and deaths established under the Germans law by saving it under the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance, 1920 (Cap.108).

It should be noted that under both colonial powers registration of births and deaths was not compulsory for Africans.
 

Saturday, October 3, 2015

WHO backs 'treat-all' HIV drug plan

Everyone who has HIV should be offered antiretroviral drugs as soon as possible after diagnosis, the World Health Organisation says.
This latest policy removes previous limits suggesting patients wait until the disease progresses.
The WHO has also recommended people at risk of HIV be given the drugs to help prevent the infection taking hold.
UNAIDS said these changes could help avert 21 million AIDS-related deaths and 28 million new infections by 2030.
The recommendations increase the number of people with HIV eligible for antiretrovirals from 28m to 37m across the world.
But the challenge globally will be making sure everyone has access to them and the funds are in place to pay for such a huge extension in treatment. Only 15m people currently get the drugs.

What are antiretrovirals?

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a combination of medicines used to treat HIV. It is not a cure, but can control the virus so that patients can live a longer, healthier life and reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to others.
The drugs prevent HIV from multiplying, which reduces the amount of the virus in the body.
Having less HIV in the body gives the immune system a chance to recover and fight off infections and cancers.
By reducing the amount of HIV, the medicines also reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to others.
Mark Dybul, executive director of the Global Fund, a private-public initiative which is one of the biggest funders of HIV research and treatment, said: "The recommendations are critically important to moving us towards the fast-track treatment and prevention goals.
"We must embrace the ambition if we are going to end HIV as a public health threat."
Michel Sidibe, of UNAIDS, added: "Everybody living with HIV has the right to life-saving treatment. The new guidelines are a very important steps towards ensuring that all people living with HIV have immediate access to antiretroviral treatment."
The WHO announcement comes after extensive research into the issue.
Source: BBC News

Thursday, October 1, 2015

The Global Goals, Journey towards Sustainable Livelihoods









Across the globe, world leaders are getting ready to adopt the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are essentially an agreed vision to put people and planet on a sustainable path by 2030. This will form the bedrock of a new development agenda that can set the world on a course of action to end poverty, transform lives and protect the planet.
In the United Republic of Tanzania we’re looking forward to the launch of the second phase of the United Nations Development Assistance Plan (UNDAP) and these new Global Goals will help us achieve that. The Goals spell out how we work together to promote dignity, equality, justice, shared prosperity and well-being for all, while protecting the environment. We are the first generation that can end poverty and the last one that can avoid the worst effects of climate change.
I’ve learned from my work with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that setting goals and targets work. For example, UNDP Tanzania is in the process of designing its Country Programme Document (CPD - 2016-2021) i.e. a development assistance strategy in line with government’s priorities and UNDP’s mandate, also the Government of Tanzania is formulating phase two (2) of the Five Year Development Plan (2016/17 -2021/22). We are delighted that both processes have come at an opportune time in line with the adoption of the Global Goals. We look forward to continuing our work in the years to come.
Millions of people’s lives have improved due to concerted efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which serve as the foundation for the next global development agenda. MDGs targets have already been met on reducing poverty, increasing access to improved drinking water sources, improving the lives of slum dwellers and achieving gender parity in primary school. Tanzania is on track to meet three of the seven MDGs: reducing infant and under-five mortality, combating HIV/AIDS and malaria and addressing gender equality. With more effort on the MDGs which are off-track in particular poverty, Tanzania can eliminate extreme poverty by 2030.   
Over the past 20 years, the likelihood of a child dying before age five has been nearly cut in half. Globally, the maternal mortality ratio dropped by nearly half. More people than ever before are receiving antiretroviral therapy for HIV-infection. More than six million deaths from malaria were averted due to substantial expansion of malaria interventions. Enormous progress has been made, showing the value of a unifying agenda underpinned by goals and targets. Yet despite this progress, the indignity of poverty has not been ended for all.
That’s why these 17 new Goals will continue this journey towards progress for everyone that aims to go even farther to focus the world on ending poverty, hunger and major health problems, as well as break new ground by setting goals and targets on inequalities, economic growth, decent jobs, energy, climate change, and peace and justice, among others.
I believe we will achieve substantial results by taking on the many interconnected challenges we face together. Taking action to achieve the Global Goals and building greater shared prosperity is in everybody’s best interest and provides enormous investment opportunities that will benefit all people and the planet. Success in this new ambitious agenda for global action will be driven by leaders, governments and people, especially at the local levels. The Goals should matter to all of us, and we all have a shared responsibility for our future.
Let’s focus on our shared problems and work on overcoming the common problems all countries face. With new, interconnected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that apply to all, we can go much further to end all forms of poverty, ensure no one is left behind, tackle unsustainable practices and chart a dignified future for all people in all countries.
UNDP stands ready to support the Government of Tanzania as it develops its plans for making the SDGs a reality. We will work closely with the government, private sector, civil society and many other partners in Tanzania to strive to achieve lasting results for people and planet.
Statement by Mr. Alvaro Rodriguez, United Nations Resident Coordinator, UNDP Resident Representative.