PM calls for joint efforts to address health challenges
PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has directed the Ministry of Health to keep encouraging organisations and stakeholders to increase their financial support to the health sector, especially for illnesses that affect the community such as cancer and fistula.
He issued the directives on Saturday in Dar es Salaam at Leaders Club during the “NMB marathon – Mwendo wa Upendo”, a charity race to raise funds for the treatment of Tanzanian women with fistula.
“Everyone has a responsibility to raise funds to address societal issues in our communities; if we cooperate and work together, we can accomplish a lot.
“I encourage other corporations in the nation to collaborate with the government in raising funds to address issues in communities like health and others,” he remarked.
Each year, some 3,000 women in Tanzania get obstetric fistulas, a condition that renders them incontinent and causes them to leak uncontrollably.
Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT) pays for all obstetric fistula patients’ treatment, lodging and meals throughout their course of care in order to reduce barriers to treatment.
The NMB Marathon was established by NMB Bank in 2021 to bring people, organisations and institutions together to address social issues in the community, particularly fistula.
The government will continue to work with anyone seeking to assist women with fistulas, the Premier added, as the majority of them have given up hope because they cannot afford the necessary medical care.
Mr Majaliwa applauded NMB for raising 1bn/- in two years instead of the earlier anticipated four.
“This is a good strategy that other organisations across the nation should follow,” he remarked.
He also congratulated Sanlam and UAP insurance companies for donating 150m/- and 100m/-.
NMB is currently working with CCBRT to organise a fundraising marathon to raise 1bn/- to help Tanzanian women with fistula receive treatment. The bank raised 400m/- in 2021 and raised 600m/- this year.
Earlier, Chief Executive Officer of NMB, Ruth Zaipuna said the cash raised will be given to CCBRT in order to defray the expense of treating individuals with obstetric fistulas.
“Available data indicate that 10,000 women have fistulas, and that figure rises by 3,000 each year. However, only 1,300 of these women are receiving treatment. The money raised will be used to pay for the treatment of 250 women because it costs 4mil/- to treat each of them,” she said.
She added, “Since our inception more than 25 years ago, NMB Bank has worked hard to become a more responsible bank whose operations leave a positive legacy in society,” she continued.
Ms Zaipuna further said through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives aimed towards helping in education, health, the environment and agricultural development, they have consistently explored effective solutions to solve the most pressing concerns affecting the communities in Tanzania.
Leaders who participated in the marathon included the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Zuberi Ali Maulid, Deputy Speaker, Mussa Azzan Zungu, CCM Ideology and Publicity Secretary, Shaka Hamdu Shaka, Representative of the Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner, Godwin Gondwe, Mayor of Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, MPs from Ukonga and Kibamba and directors of various institutions and organisations.
