Tanzania earns UNICEF kudos in child welfare

DAR ES SALAAM: THE United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has lauded Tanzania for significant milestone in improving child survival, nutrition and overall wellbeing, noting that sustained investment in health and social services has helped drive progress over the past three decades.

UNICEF Representative in Tanzania Elke Wisch said the agency will continue working with the government to advance priorities under the National Development Vision 2050, which places human capital development at the centre of the country’s long-term economic ambitions.

Ms Wisch commended Tanzania during a meeting with Minister for Finance ambassador Khamis Mussa Omar at the ministry’s sub-offices in Dar es Salaam.

She said Tanzania’s progress over the past three decades, particularly in reducing under-five mortality and child stunting, reflected sustained investment in health services, vaccination and nutrition programmes.

But she said gaps remained, particularly during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, as well as in nutrition, education and early childhood development.

“We recognise and commend these achievements, but challenges remain that require priority attention, especially in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, as well as in education, nutrition and early childhood development,” said Ms Wisch.

On nutrition, Tanzania has reduced child stunting from about half of all children in 1992 to roughly one in three in recent years, Ms Wisch said, while noting that more work is needed to meet national and global nutrition targets.

She said UNICEF is working with the government on investment cases for nutrition and early childhood development, areas she described as critical to improving children’s learning and their productivity later in life.

Ms Wisch also called for a national discussion on how to finance early childhood development, saying resources would need to be mobilised from the government, development partners, the private sector and philanthropic institutions.

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She said UNICEF valued its longstanding partnership with Tanzania and would continue supporting efforts to improve children’s rights and wellbeing as part of broader social and economic development.

Ms Wisch also welcomed government efforts to improve budget transparency, analysis and expenditure tracking, saying such cooperation had contributed to greater accountability in the management of public resources.