Tanzania not among best places to be a mother

  Ranks 135 in new State of the World's Mothers Report

A mother with her child. (File photo)

Most of us know someone who lost their life giving birth, or who died from pregnancy-related complications.

A friend of mine lost his wife last year while giving birth at the Muhimbili National Hospital. I used to think that in Dar es Salaam, maternal deaths only occurred to women who can not afford to pay for specialised care. Muhimbili hospital offers private services in its fast track unit and this is where my friend’s wife was attending clinic.

I just could not understand how she could die giving birth, given that she was receiving care in the hospital’s private unit with all specialists at her disposal. The couple had chosen Muhimbili given that it is the country’s major hospital and the fact that it also offers private services for those who can afford.

In another incidence, a colleague’s wife escaped death by a whisker after giving birth to her second child at the hospital. She was bleeding heavily and when the nurses who delivered her took her to the theatre, no one was ready to attend to her fearing to be held responsible if she died. A mother had died from excessive bleeding the previous day and people had been taken to task.

“It’s my wife’s surname that saved her. Her cousin used to work at the hospital and when staff in the theatre saw the name, they realised she was related to their former colleague and immediately attended to her. Otherwise she would have died,” says Henry.
Many mothers in Dar es Salaam die during pregnancy and childbirth. One wonders if this is happening in the capital city, how about in remote areas where services are poor?

Save the Children’s 14th annual State of the World’s Mothers report released on Tuesday, which looks at the mothers’ well being ranks Tanzania near the bottom of the list, at 135 out of 176 countries around the globe. The report highlights the challenges facing mothers and newborns worldwide.

The Mothers’ Index shows countries that are succeeding and those failing in their support to mothers. It assesses mothers’ well-being using indicators of maternal health, child mortality, education and levels of women’s income and political status.

Every year 454 women die from pregnancy related complications for every 100,000 live births in Tanzania. This translates to close to 8,000 women dying every year. And they die from conditions that could be prevented or treated.

Causes of maternal deaths in Tanzania include excessive bleeding, unsafe abortions, eclampsia, obstructed labour and infections. Low availability of emergency obstetric and new born care services, chronic shortage of skilled health providers together with a weak referral system contribute to the high maternal deaths.

According to Population Reference Bureau (PRB)’s 2011 ‘World’s Women and Girls’ data sheet, the lifetime chance of dying from maternal causes in Tanzania is one in 23.

Healthcare quality
According to Unicef, maternal deaths in Tanzania are caused by poor quality of care due to an insufficient number of skilled health workers and lack of basic equipment, as well as long distances from home to health care facilities.

Between 2004 and 2010, 24 per cent of mothers did not access health services due to lack of money to pay for the services while 19 per cent did not access care due to long distance to a health facility.

These two factors led to 48 per cent of all deliveries that occurred between 2005 and 2010 to take place at home.

Over half (65 per cent) of mothers did not receive postnatal check up and only 31 per cent were examined within two days as recommended. Most of those who did not receive postnatal services (76 per cent) came from poor families.

Women living in rural areas, those who come from the poorest families and those who are less educated, have the least access to skilled attendance at delivery, according to Unicef. Women who start having children in adolescence tend to have more children and shorter spacing between pregnancies – all of which are risk factors for maternal and neonatal mortality. The neonatal mortality rate is highest among mothers under-20 years of age at 45 per 1000 live births compared with 29 per 1000 for mothers aged 20 to 29 years.

According to Save the Children’s report, the Democratic Republic of Congo is the world’s toughest place to be a mother and Finland the best.

The Nordic countries sweep the top spots while, for the first time, countries in sub-Saharan Africa take up each of the bottom ten places in the annual list.

The top five countries in the global mothers’ ranking are: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and the Netherlands. The bottom five (in descending order) are: Niger, Mali, Sierra Leone, Somalia and the DRC.

According to Save the Children, the startling disparities between mothers in the developed and developing world are summed up around maternal risk. A woman or girl in DRC has a one in 30 chance of dying from maternal causes – including childbirth – but in Finland the risk is one in 12,200. In DRC, which performs poorly across all indicators, girls are likely to be educated for eight and a half years compared to Finland, where girls can expect to receive over sixteen years of education.

“By investing in mothers and children, nations are investing in their future prosperity. If women are educated, are represented politically, and have access to good quality maternal and child care, then they and their children are much more likely to survive and thrive – and so are the societies they live in. Huge progress has been made across the developing world, but much more can be done to save and improve millions of the poorest mothers and newborns’ lives,” says Save the Children.

Child deaths
The Birth Day Risk Index, also contained in Save the Children's report, compares first-day death rates for babies in 186 countries. One million babies die each year on the day they enter the world, – or two every minute – making the first day by far the riskiest day of a person’s life in almost every country in the world.

This is despite the low-cost interventions that are available to tackle the high rate of baby deaths on the first day of life. Sub-Saharan Africa remains by far the most dangerous region to be born – with the deaths of newborns actually increasing in the past few decades. Here, babies are more than seven times as likely to die on the day they are born as babies born in industrialised countries. A baby in Somalia, the most dangerous country, is 40 times more likely to die on its first day than a child born in Luxembourg, the safest.

According to the report, two thirds of all newborn deaths occur in just 10 countries: India, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Afghanistan and Tanzania.

Infant mortality rate in Tanzania stands at 51 deaths per 1000 live births and neonatal mortality at 26 deaths per 1,000 live births. Neonatal deaths are inextricably linked to the health of the mother during pregnancy and to the conditions of delivery and newborn care.

Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, according to Save the Children, the poor health of mothers, where between 10 – 20 per cent are underweight, contributes to high rates of death for babies, as does the number of young mothers, giving birth before their bodies have matured. Other factors are low use of contraception, poor access to decent healthcare when pregnant and a severe shortage of health-workers.

Speaking of contraception use, 22 per cent of women who need to control birth in Tanzania do not have access to the service. By meeting this need, it is estimated that 1.4 million unintended pregnancies, 1 million abortions, 18,000 maternal deaths and 500,000 child deaths can be prevented if access to family planning is granted.

According to Health and Development Tanzania, allocations of funds for family planning services in Tanzania have not been meeting the estimated annual needs for the service. Releases of the funds have also been low and irregular hence affecting the provision of the service.

The solution
Save the Children’s report identifies four lifesaving products that can be used universally: corticosteroid injections to women in preterm labour to reduce deaths caused by newborns’ breathing problems; resuscitation devices to save babies who do not breathe at birth; chlorhexidine cord cleansing to prevent umbilical cord infections and injectable antibiotics to treat newborn sepsis and pneumonia.

Save the Children calls on world leaders to strengthen health systems so mothers have greater access to skilled birth attendants. They can provide lifesaving interventions to all mothers and children, in addition to providing more funding for maternal, newborn and child health programmes. More should be invested in frontline healthcare workers and community health workers to reach the most vulnerable mothers and babies.

The organization suggests fighting the underlying causes of newborn mortality, especially gender inequality and malnutrition. Helping mothers become strong and stable – physically, financially and socially – make their children stronger and more likely to survive and thrive.

Countries are also advised to invest in low-cost solutions that can dramatically reduce newborn mortality. Proper cord care and newborn/paediatric doses of antibiotics can prevent and treat simple but deadly infections. Exclusive breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact (known as “kangaroo mother care”) should be encouraged.

Such practices cost very little but can save hundreds of thousands of babies’ lives each year. Additionally, birth attendants should be trained and given proper support and supplies.  

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Machinga Complex turns white elephant

 The business community has urged the Dar es Salaam City Council to device means of making the Business Park popularly known as Machinga Complex to be more attractive to customers than it has been the case.

Speaking in an exclusive interview at the Machinga Complex on Saturday, one of the traders at the market Leonard John Madete noted that the decision by the city fathers to restrict commuter buses to pass by Karume bus stop through the Machinga Complex has to a great extent made complex virtually deserted.

“ All in all since is still a little number of customers that are visiting the market for buying products even after the Machinga complex became a new commuter stand for daladala that come from Tabata, Buguruni, Vingunguti and others that are plying via Ilala,” he said
Another trader at the market, Emmanuel Mtui commended said the market is performing poorly because it is being undermined by failure of the city fathers to find new approaches to attract customers.

Mtui also noted that there is little space at a station near the Machinga complex which hinders more people to drop for shopping.

“There is a garage that operates neat the bus stop which has to a great extent occupied the area which makes not conducive for potential customers,” he said, noting, “we urge the authority to look on this matter before thinking for other ways of increasing the number of customers at the market, “he noted. He said there were a number of businessmen at Mchikichini market in Dar es Salaam who have moved from here selling their goods on the ground but because they have enough space have many customers.

For his part, Selestine Fransic, also a petty trader said the area is not visited by many costumers because many traders have moved away fro the area and therefore they is not much they can get from the complex except for the few goods sold by few traders.

“Customers would always want to buy all the commodities they want at one place to avoid transport costs to various shopping centres. Here we only have bags, radios, khangas and other few commodities.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Debate rages on use of the cane in schools

Public opinion remains sharply divided on whether to reintroduce corporal punishment in schools, particularly following the massive failures in last year’s national Form IV examinations.

Those in support of the government’s decision argue that applying strokes of the cane will make students more disciplined and more attentive to their teachers, thus enhancing their performance in exams and studies in general.

The argument on the contrary is that ‘discipline’ resulting from beating can only be fear resulting from terror and would make students less attentive and more likely to do ever worse in their studies.

Miriam John, a parent based in Dar es Salaam, said she supports the use of corporal punishment “because I am sure most students will reform for fear of disgracing themselves if caned before the very eyes of the schoolmates”.

“When the government banned corporal punishment, there was a rise in the prevalence of misbehaviour among students, leading to a drop in attendance, academic performance and discipline generally,” she said.

Ramadhani Justine, a student at St Mathews Secondary School in the city, meanwhile described the use of the cane as “one of the most effective ways of shaping students’ discipline and general conduct”.

He added that if they are not beaten, students will have contempt and arrogance against the teachers. However, he warned that it was important for the punishment to be “regulated” – including setting the maximum number of strokes of the cane to be administered. Digna Peter, a teacher in Kilimanjaro Region, also recommended corporal punishment as the appropriate way to change students’ behaviour.

She said it was “the only punishment we know that can scare students into good behaviour”.

She said banning the punishment would leave students free to conduct themselves as they please because they will be assured that they would go unpunished.

“Teachers are guardians of students and they would normally not the cane as a way of harassing or mistreating the students, but only to effectively prepare an ethical generation for the future,” she noted.

Argues Megan Randall, a former US volunteer who taught in a local school for three years, differs.

She believes corporal punishment affects students negatively, adding: “It reduces their self-esteem and overall confidence to succeed. It causes physical pain and emotional, long-lasting scarring.”

“On the whole, it motivates students to fear learning, to abhor their teachers and be dreadful of failing,” she intimated to this paper in a recent interview.
She advised that learning out of fear is never as healthy or successful as doing so “out of a realistic and encouraged ability to succeed”.

Instead, she in support of positive encouragement, role modeling and learning environments in which students are told “you can do it”. Beatings to augment students’ performance are wrong and misguided “because it is a reactive strategy to their failing rather than a proactive way to encourage them to learn and succeed”, she notes.

According to her, beating doesn’t teach or show students what to do to succeed or clarify what they should have known for a test, “but merely highlights how they shouldn’t behave and that they did something wrong”.

A Dar es Salaam-based philosophy don who preferred anonymity said children learn from whatever adults do and whatever happens in society, and beating seldom induces positive change in their behaviour but can only breed resentment and anger.

A recent global study by Plan International, revealed that many children abandoned school because of punishments, which include hitting pupils with hands or sticks, making them stand in various positions for long periods and even tying them to chairs. Out of 13 countries which were the subjects of the research, India was ranked third in terms of the estimated economic cost of corporal punishment.

Plan reckons that between $1.4bn and $7.4bn was being lost every year in India in social benefits because of school violence.

The cost is based on estimates of how the larger economy is affected by the impact of corporal punishment on pupils' attendance and academic performance.

Children have the right to protection from all forms of violence, abuse and maltreatment. Corporal punishment in any setting is a violation of that right.

Physical and other forms of humiliating and abusive treatment are not only a violation of the child’s right to protection from violence, but also counter-productive to learning, the study says.

“Corporal punishment in all settings wherever the child is, should be banned through legislation, in line with the recommendations in the UN study on violence against Children. Any form of violence against children is never justifiable or acceptable. It teaches the child that violence is acceptable and so perpetuates the cycle of violence, the study says.

Karin Hulshof a UNICEF Representative says: “Eliminating corporal punishment in all settings is also a key strategy for reducing and preventing all forms of violence in society."

Last month the government said it was contemplating reintroducing corporal punishment in schools in a move meant to enhance discipline.

Education and Vocational Training deputy minister Philip Mulugo said the scraping of corporal punishment in schools had resulted in misbehaviour by many students and hence the massive failures in last year’s Form Four exams.

But Randall argues that corporal punishment, though not bad, shouldn’t be used as the first punishment for minor mistakes.

“Even though corporal punishment was illegal during the time when I was a teacher in Tanzania, it was still the most popular method of chastisement and widely used by all teachers and administration in schools,” she noted, adding: “Hence, obviously, even though corporal punishment was being used, it clearly didn’t do anything positive to ensure students’ high performance on their tests.”

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Taxation denies govt 2trn/- in revenue

The government loses close to 2trn/- annually (about 10 percent of its budget) due to the ineffective and inefficient taxation system it employs, members of civil society organizations and faith based organizations have said.

They said although the tax structure has expanded and revenue collection has jumped from 8.5 percent in 1999/2000 to 15.7 percent in 2011/12, the amount lost through various means is over one sixth of the 2009/10 government’s entire expenditure budget of 9.5trn/-.

The organizations made the remarks at a capacity building workshop on taxation and tax advocacy organised by Agenda Participation 2000 in collaboration with Policy Forum and Norwegian Church Aid.

They said loses are mainly made in three areas, which are tax incentives, trade mispricing and capital flights.

Citing an example of tax incentives given to mining companies and firms operating in the Export Processing Zones (EPZs), Programme Officer, Public Resources and Finance of the Norwegian Church Aid, Francis Uhadi, said Tanzania offered 4.3 percent of GDP compared to the legal limit in Kenya and Uganda which is one percent of the GDP.

He said such exemptions given to corporations have deprived the country of an average of 458.6bn/- ($288 million) per year between 2008/09 and 2010/11.

He cited other areas as trade mispricing and capital flight, saying it was a relatively new area that needed capacity building to most tax experts in Tanzania.

He explained that studies estimate huge revenue losses resulting from illegal capital flight.

“Recent figures suggest that illicit capital flows from Tanzania range from $94m – 660m a year and those illicit flows from trade mispricing alone amount to $109m – 127m a year,” he said.

He said the large growing uncontrolled informal sector, which is not taxed, contributes to revenue losses and transferring the tax burden to the poor in terms of indirect taxes and taxes to employees in terms of Pay-As-You-Earn.

For his part, Silas Olang from the Revenue Watch institute said that transfer pricing which is the pricing arrangements for transactions between two or more corporate entities that are members of the same firm have caused huge loss in tax collection.

Commenting on its effects on tax revenue, he said transfer pricing affects determination of the base value for customs duties and taxable profits where a higher transfer price of inputs may increase the taxable income in the country of export and reduce the taxable income in the country of importation and vise versa.

He said where the transfer prices do not reflect the true profits earned in a particular country, the country is unfairly deprived of revenue for development.

A legal officer with the Lawyers Environmental Action Team (LEAT), Musa Mnasizu, attributed the huge loss to weak institutional framework on the tax system, saying the current tax regime does not have a clear and defined tax base and tax structure.

“Tax policy should be revisited. The tax laws should be amended and new techniques to curb against tax evasion and tax avoidance should be introduced,” he said.

Some of their recommendations were that the government must ensure improved collection and administration of non-tax revenue by reviewing mechanisms of issuance of receipts and licenses as well as improving the retention rates by ministries, departments and government institutions.

Also there must be expansion of tax base through formalisation of informal sector in order to capture it into the tax net, review of legislation establishing agencies or public Institutions that collect revenue with the aim of increasing their respective contribution to the Consolidated Fund Services (CFS).

The organizations also suggested review of various legislations granting tax exemptions with the aim of controlling and reducing them as well as review of the mechanism of collecting property tax in cities, municipalities, towns, districts and townships. They urged the people to understand their rights and educate themselves on the country’s taxation system and how it impacts on their lives.

Efforts to get Tanzania Revenue Authority director general Harry Kitilya for comments on the criticisms proved futile yesterday.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Magufuli to table Works ministry budget today

Work minister Dr. John Magufuli is today expected to present his ministry’s budget estimates for the 2013/14 financial year in the National Assembly which resumes its session after two days of rest.

The ministry’s budget is the biggest carrying most important infrastructure issues needed for the economic development in the country.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Speaker Job Ndugai last week cautioned some legislators in the National Assembly for lack of proper explanations as some of them have the tendency of contributing their views in contradiction to a particular issue in discussion without showing evidences to support their argument.

He wanted them to observe rules and regulations and standing orders that guide the parliamentary debating procedures.

Today’s ministry budget will be the 8th in a series of the ministries whose budgets for the 2013/14 financial year have been approved by the National Assembly since the budget session began on April 8 this year.

The ministries whose budgets have already been approved by the National Assembly include the ministry of Agriculture and Livestock development, Water development, Natural resources and Tourism, Ministry of defense, Home Affairs, Health and Social Services and Community development, Gender and Children.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Women traders urged to be confident, innovative

Women entrepreneurs in the country stand a better chance of excelling in business if they are confident and innovative.

This was said by the Dare to Dream Foundation Chief Executive Officer Emelda Mwamanga during the 5th Vodacom Economic Women conference and Business Expo held in Dar es Salaam at the weekend.

She told a one-day seminar that today's business world is competitive and women entrepreneurs can withstand the existing competition if they are confident and innovative on what they are doing.

The seminar was intended to bring the women entrepreneurs together so that they get the chance to learn from each other, networking and share experiences.

This year's conference theme is 'Business Beyond Tomorrow Day'. It inspires women entrepreneurs to build businesses that will last for many years.

According to Mwamanga, the conference targeted all women including emerging female entrepreneurs who are operating their own small and medium sized businesses.

CRDB Bank marketing officer Emmanuel Kiondo said his bank was aware of women’s contribution to the national economy and that was why it did not hesitate to sponsor the conference to build their capacity under its corporate social responsibility scheme.

"CRDB Bank is committed to seeing women entrepreneurs grow to big business people. We have a special account known as Malkia Account to fulfill their different dreams," he said.

Alice Lewis from Vodacom said her company was aware of the importance of empowering women and the decision to sponsor the conference was one of its commitments in supporting women empowerment.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

JK to open 'Social Security Week'

President Jakaya Kikwete will today officiate at the beginning of ‘Social Security Week’ here aimed at ensuring that the right information on quality social security services reach the majority Tanzanians.

Minister for Labour and Employment Gaudensia Kabaka said that poor knowledge on social security schemes deny people of their basic rights.

“The social security sector is bedevilled by poor quality of information as a human right issue as stipulated in the country’s Constitution.” She said.

She said only 3 percent of the country’s labour force (23 per cent of the country’s population) has joined social security schemes.

The Social Security Regulator Authority (SSRA) launched the ‘Social Security Week last year to create public awareness on the sector and promote efficiency.

According to Kabaka, during the week numerous seminars would be held by security funds, registration of new members as well as other events that would bring awareness to the public on the importance of the sector.

Deputy minister for Labour and Employment Dr Makongoro Mahanga said urged social security funds to widen their coverage and reach the majority Tanzanians.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Lukuvi: Use of high tech to boost agriculture in Southern Highlands

The Southern Highlands zone residents were yesterday challenged to adopt science and technology methods in agriculture to add value to their crops.

The Minister of State Prime Minister’s Office (Policy Coordination and Parliamentary Affairs), William Lukuvi, said here that application of science and technology in agriculture could bring tangible results to farmers.

He made the call while speaking at a dialogue on Smart Partnership that brought together Mbeya, Njombe and host Iringa regions where he also said that the use of technology in agriculture will increase productivity in the sector.

“It is an undisputable fact that agriculture is the most dependable sector in our zone and it is high time we took serious measures, including application of high tech and science to boost it,” Lukuvi said.

He said zonal smart partnership dialogues have come at the right time since people will have ample time to air their views on the use of science and technology as catalyst towards revolutionising agriculture.

“After receiving opinions from the people, especially in the dialogues, the use of science and technology will be accommodated in the national development strategy so as to give agriculture a new push,” the minister explained.

Speaking at the same occasion, Mbeya Regional Commissioner Abbas Kandoro, said his region is producing more rice and fruits, requesting that it would be appropriate to employ science and technology from the time of preparing seeds.

"It is our optimism that the smart partnership dialogues will unleash various interests from groups in society and the technology should help in agribusiness,” Kandoro said.

He said Small Industries Development Organisation (SIDO) and Vocational Education Training Authority (VETA) should concentrate in producing small equipment that will help stimulate agricultural growth.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC), Raymond Mbilinyi, said smart partnership dialogues are meant to get opinions from different groups before they are presented to the national smart partnership dialogue next month.

"Since we are running short of time before the national smart partnership dialogue between June 1 and 2, this year we decided to organise these zonal dialogues,” Mbilinyi said, adding that the International Smart Partnership Dialogue will be held in Tanzania between June 28 and July 1, this year.

TNBC is co-ordinating all zonal and national smart partnership dialogues.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

China reasserts its support to Tazara

Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) has attributed the role played by Chinese-Africa People's Friendship to the strengthening and improvement of the railway to assuring its continued contribution to the economies of the two countries.

Speaking last week during the visits of Chinese-Africa People's Friendship Association (CAPFA) delegation to Tazara, the Railway Acting Managing Director, Saidi Sauko pointed out that the friendship has had good impact so far.

Last year, China, Tanzania and Zambia signed the 15th Economic and Technical Co-operation protocol which is to be implemented in June or July later this year.

Sauko also said that the protocol will enable the authority to conduct rehabilitation of the shunting locomotives as well as provide the much needed spare parts and technical support.

“We thank the Chinese for their support, they have graciously allowed a team of experts from their country to be based here to assure continued provision of technical expertise and advice,” he revealed.

“Tazara stands today as the most significant symbol of the friendship between the three countries and continues to provide a platform for political and social economic relationships to blossom amongst the three and their people,” he added.

Tazara has in the last 37 years of its existence, transported over 50 million passengers, 30 million tones of freight and over 100 million parcels between and within the two countries and in the region.

“We have over the years provided stable employment to the citizens of Tanzania and Zambia, with over one million people having passed through the employment system of Tazara since inception,” he detailed on the authorities history.

Apart from the two owner states, other countries reaping the benefits of Tazara are, Democratic republic of Congo, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Burundi and South Africa through Tazara’s provision of affordable, secure and reliable services.

Chinese involvement in the railway system in not new, in fact it is the Chinese that financed it original construction.

Tazara was constructed between 1970 and 1975. The Project was financed through an interest free loan of RMBY 988 Million (equivalent to US Dollars 500 Million) from the Peoples Republic of China and started commercial operations in July 1976.

Now Tazara is an integral part of the southern Africa Regional Rail Transport Network. It is a rail link of approximately 1,860 km long rising from sea level at the port in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to the heights of New Kapiri Mposhi at 1400m above sea level in the central African country of Zambia.

With growing, population and economies across the region, the services by Tazara are today even more relevant than ever before and as such the new Chinese aide comes at an appropriate time, he went on to explain.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN