Makamu
wa Rais wa Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania, Dkt. Mohammed Gharib Bilal,
akiangalia na kupata maelezo kutoka kwa Meja Ali Kitundu, kuhusu elimu
ya awali kwa wanafunzi wanaojifunza elimu ya afya kabla ya ajila.,
wakati alipofika kwenye Hoteli ya Serena jijini Dar es Salaam, kwa ajili
ya kufungua Kongamano la Mradi wa Maisha kuhusu Afya ya Mama na Mtoto.
Kutoka kulia ni Dkt. Grace Qoro, Waratibu wa mradi huo, Jasmine
Chechewa na Shallah Ukende. Picha na OMR
Makamu
wa Rais wa Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania, Dkt. Mohammed Gharib Bilal,
akisikiliza maelezo jinsi ya kumhudumia mama mjamzito kutoka kwa
Mratibu Msaidizi wa Afya Mzazi na Mtoto wa Wilaya ya Ilala, Edith Mboga,
wakati alipofika kwenye Hoteli ya Serena jijini Dar es Salaam, kwa
ajili ya kufungua Kongamano la Mradi wa Maisha kuhusu Afya ya Mama na
Mtoto. Kulia ni Mshauri wa Ukunga Mradi wa Maisha, Scholastica Chibehe.
Picha na OMR
Makamu
wa Rais wa Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania, Dkt. Mohammed Gharib Bilal,
akihutubia, wakati alipofika kwenye Hoteli ya Serena jijini Dar es
Salaam, kwa ajili ya kufungua Kongamano la Mradi wa Maisha kuhusu Afya
ya Mama na Mtoto. Picha na OMR
Makamu
wa Rais wa Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania, Dkt. Mohammed Gharib Bilal,
akimkabidhi cheti mwakilishi wa Mradi wa Maisha kutoka Mkoa wa Dar es
Salaam, Theresa Mmbando, wakati wa ufunguzi rasmi wa Kongamano la Mradi
wa Maisha kuhusu Afya ya Mama na Mtoto, jijini Dar es Salaam, leo.
Picha na OMR
Makamu
wa Rais wa Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania, Dkt. Mohammed Gharib Bilal,
akimkabidhi cheti mwakilishi wa Mradi wa Maisha kutoka Mkoa wa
Morogoro, ambaye ni Katibu Tawala Mkoa wa Morogoro, Eliya Ntandu,
wakati wa ufunguzi rasmi wa Kongamano la Mradi wa Maisha kuhusu Afya ya
Mama na Mtoto, jijini Dar es Salaam leo. Picha na OMR
…………………………………………………………
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SPEECH BY H.E.
DR. MOHAMMED GHARIB BILAL, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF
TANZANIA AT THE JHPIEGO’S MAISHA DISSEMINATION MEETING ON MATERNAL AND
NEWBORN HEALTH IN TANZANIA, SERENA HOTEL, DAR ES SALAAM, 16TH. APRIL, 2014
|
Hon. Dr. Kebwe Stephen Kebwe (MP), Deputy Minister for Health
and Social Welfare;
Hon. Said Meck Sadick, Regional Commissioner for Dar es Salaam;
Dr. Donan Mmbando, The Chief Medical Officer, Ministry of Health
and Social Welfare;
USAID Tanzania Representative;
Directors and Assistant Directors, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare;
Ms. Maryjane Lacoste, Jhpiego/Tanzania Country Director ;
Representatives of the Civil Society, Private Sector and Government Official;
Health Workers;
Members of Press;
Invited Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Let
me humbly start by thanking entire leadership of the Ministry of Health
and Social Welfare, for inviting me to officiate this Maternal and
Newborn Health Stakeholders’ Meeting which also commemorates the end of
the USAID-funded MAISHA Project.
I
commend you Hon. Deputy Minister Dr. Kebwe and your team for this
initiative, that is meant to take stock of the progress the Ministry of
Health and Social Welfare has made with partners implementing the
Mothers and Infants, Safe, Healthy and Alive (MAISHA) Program led by
Jhpiego, in improving the wellbeing of mothers, children and families
in Tanzania over the past five years.
Also
let me take this opportunity sincerely to thank our development
partners, particularly the Government of the United States of America
through its Agency for International Development (USAID), and other
funding mechanisms such including PEPFAR and PMI, for their financial
and technical support. We are truly grateful for your partnership and
support to the Government of Tanzania, in our efforts to accelerate the
reduction of maternal and newborn deaths and for total supporting
development of this country.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
From
what I have learned, the MAISHA program was indeed a unique partnership
that brought together various stakeholders; The Ministry of Health and
Social Welfare through the Directorate of Preventive Services, USAID and
Jhpiego that led a group of other organizations, with unique
capabilities and innovations committed to saving lives of mothers and
newborns.
In
line with the program’s unique name, MAISHA, which means ‘LIFE’ in
Swahili, you have been building solid foundations over the last five
years for quality services that have been promoting MAISHA, ‘LIFE’:
empowering providers and communities at all levels of the health system
across the country, to deliver targeted interventions that are now
making a real difference in keeping mothers and their newborns, safe,
healthy and alive.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
This
meeting to share the experience from the implementation of MAISHA
Program comes at a crucial time, when we are all looking back and taking
stock of the progress we have made against our targets in the
five-year, Roadmap Strategic Plan to Accelerate Reduction of Maternal,
Newborn and Child Deaths (2008-2015). The Ministry of Health has just
completed the Mid-term reviews for the Health Sector Strategic Plan III
and the National Road Map Strategic Plan to Accelerate Reduction of
Maternal, Newborn and Child Deaths (2008-2015). The findings from the
reviews provide an avenue for evidence based prioritization of cost
effective interventions in order to accelerate progress towards
achievements of Millennium Development Goals, particularly as we
approach the 2015 deadline. Furthermore it is the foundation for our
strategic direction in the Post 2015 era.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
In
this line, I am pleased to announce to you that, the UN Report on Child
Mortality Estimates that was released in September 2013 shows that
Tanzania has attained Millennium Development Goal number 4, the target
for Tanzania was to reduce under five mortality rate to 54 per 1000 live
births by 2015. This great achievement is a result of improved Malaria
control, sustained high immunization coverage, high Vitamin ‘A’
supplementation coverage, and Integrated Management of Childhood
Illnesses (IMCI) and Health Sector Reforms. This was made possible
through strong partnerships, financial support and collaboration with
development partners and stakeholders. The success gives us the
motivation to further push and accelerate progress as it is unacceptable
for any child to die from preventable causes.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Despite
progress in reducing child mortality, Tanzania is still lagging behind
in improving maternal and newborn health. Why do our mothers should
continue to die from preventable causes, and at such a high rate while
giving life to another? Our slogan in the African Region for the
Campaign on Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) states;
“Africa Cares- No woman Should Die While bringing life.” In Tanzania we
adapted it to; “Tanzania Cares- No Woman should die while giving life
and no child should die from preventable causes.”
Ladies and Gentlemen;
I am
pleased to hear that MAISHA and it’s partners in collaboration with the
Ministry, have worked tirelessly to address causes of maternal deaths in
the past five years. It is my hope that these important investments
will lead to positive results in upcoming surveys showing further
reduction for maternal mortality from the level in 2010 which was 454
per 100,000 live births.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Nevertheless,
we should all be challenged and understand that we still have a work to
do. As we speak, only about a half of births in Tanzania take place in
health facilities and are assisted by a skilled provider. And the
challenges are many:
- Delay in seeking care: Women may have to get permission from a spouse or other family members delaying the process to seek care;
- Delay in arriving at an emergency care facility: Transportation may be unavailable or unaffordable or poor infrastructure to get to the health facilities; and
- Delay in receiving care from providers: Facilities may lack staff, equipment or supplies.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
It is
therefore imperative that we continue efforts to sustain the gains
achieved and intensify our efforts. I would like to highlight a few key
areas about the MAISHA Project that impressed me. I am pleased to hear
that MAISHA supported the Ministry to develop important guidelines and
training materials for care at birth, the postnatal period, integrated
community maternal, newborn and child health services and quality
improvement guidelines. These guidelines will continue to contribute to
better services and improved outcomes beyond the life span of the
project. I also commend the efforts towards building capacity and skills
of providers which included strengthening pre-service training. I
believe strong pre-service training is a core element towards ensuring
sustainability quality maternal and child health services.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
The
effort towards integration of services ensuring comprehensive services
such as HIV prevention, family planning and cervical cancer screening is
highly commendable. Integration of services is not only efficient but
effective and provides a mechanism to use every opportunity to reach a
larger number of individuals with needed services
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Before
coming to this stage I meet with some of the providers and
beneficiaries of this Program. I also met Community Health Workers who
are doing a tremendous job of bringing maternal, newborn and child
health services to a doorstep in their villages. I learned that MAISHA
has supported capacity building to more than 650 Community Health
Workers in the mainland and in Zanzibar. These community health workers
have been further equipped with smart phones applications that are
helping them identify danger signs and plan follow-up visits with their
clients.
The
major success we have achieved in maternal and newborn health system
strengthening through the MAISHA Program has without doubt improved
health outcomes for both women and children. The Government of Tanzania
acknowledges that initiatives like the USAID supported MAISHA in
partnership with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Regional
Health Management Teams (RHMTs) and other partners, are a significant
contribution in our efforts towards reaching our targets.
Once
again, I commend the partnership and collaboration between the
Ministries of Health in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar. These partners
are USAID, PEPFAR, PMI, and other partners-Jhpiego, Save the Children,
IMA World Health, T-Marc, Futures Group, D-tree, Medical association of
Tanganyika (MAT), Regional and Council Health Management teams and all
other stakeholders for remarkable achievements. The Government of
Tanzania will continue to treasure our collaboration and partnership in
meeting national and international maternal and child health goals.
Hon. Deputy Minister;
Invited Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
In
conclusion, I want to assure you that Tanzania remains committed for
accelerating the reduction of maternal, newborn and child mortality. The
Government is now in the process of including health in the
Government’s Big Results Now agenda. Deliberate efforts are being made
to mobilize more resources towards critical health interventions,
including maternal, newborn and child health services. We do understand
that if MDG Goals number 4 and 5 on Improving Child and Maternal Health
fail, the other MDGs will likely fail as well. We also know that
investment in reproductive health care, education, emergency obstetric
services and skilled care at delivery will enable Mothers and Infants be
Safe, Healthy and Alive (MAISHA).
We
look forward to continued collaboration as we strive to save lives and
protecting our people’s health by increasing access to affordable
quality reproductive and child health services to women and families. I
am aware that regional representatives and Ministry officials will be
meeting with Project partners this afternoon to establish deliberations
on how these many gains can be maintained. I wish you fruitful
discussion and I am looking forward to receiving positive feedback from
that discussion.
Thank you for your kind attention.
