Tag: Tanzania

Tanzania’s leadership applauds high vaccine uptake by citizens

Frank

TANZANIA – Tanzanian Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa, has revealed latest data of COVID-19 vaccination rollout, saying 80 percent of the first consignment of 1,058,400 doses has been administered, signaling a high response from the public. Equally, the Premier reiterated the government commitment to ensure the health of Tanzanians is highly protected at all times. Mr. Majaliwa disclosed this while inaugurating the annual Economic Empowerment Forum held in Dodoma, calling upon the public to continue taking all precautionary measures against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, including taking the vaccines. The…

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Tanzania commits to publish Covid-19 reports weekly amid pressure from IMF

Frank

TANZANIA – Tanzania’s Health Minister Dorothy Gwajima, has said the country will publish Covid-19 numbers weekly, as a confirmation that the virus is a public health concern in the country. Tanzania submitted its last report on the virus to the World Health Organization (WHO) on January 3, 2021, when the country indicated there were 25,846 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 719 deaths. However, the country has come under pressure to publish data on the spread of coronavirus as part of conditional approval of a US$574 million emergency loan from the…

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USA donates 1.7 billion to support Tanzania’s healthcare system

Frank

Tanzania – The United States government has committed to support Tanzania’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic by strengthening management of the pandemic cases in referral hospitals. The support channeled through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will be implemented through a project that has been launched in Tanzania’s capital, Dodoma. The 10-month project worth over 1.7 billion aims to ensure health facilities provide the best care for COVID-19 patients with critical needs, ultimately improving their chances of survival and recovery speed. This support includes mitigating the impact…

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Tanzania secures nearly US$600 million from IMF for COVID relief

Frank

TANZANIA – The International Monetary Fund’s executive board has approved US$567m in emergency support for Tanzania to help it finance a COVID-19 vaccination campaign and meet the health and social costs of the pandemic, the IMF said in a statement. The IMF board approved a disbursement of US$189m to Tanzania under its Rapid Credit Facility (RCF), as well as US$378m under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), the global lender said. The COVID-19 outbreak and associated travel restrictions have led to the collapse of the tourism sector in the East African…

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Polish Redemptoris Missio to build new health facilities in Africa

Frank

AFRICA – Redemptoris Missio, a humanitarian aid foundation in Poznan, western Poland, has committed to establish and commercialize top standard healthcare facilities across Africa. The foundation will commit approximately PLN 1.5 million (EUR 327,000) gained from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to put up these facilities in three African countries; Tanzania, Kenya and Senegal. Justyna Janiec-Palczewska, the director of Redemptoris Missio, has said the organization will be renovating and equipping the Centre for Malnourished Children in Velingara, Senegal, expand the health centre in Kithatu, Kenya, and build and equip a…

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East Africa sees telehealth boom amid Covid-19 pandemic

Frank

AFRICA – The pandemic has accelerated the pace of technological advances in health care, from video consultations to artificial intelligence-powered triage, and medically underserved East Africa is catching on fast. With some of the worst doctor-patient ratios in the world, Africa is proving fertile ground for telehealth providers. Babyl, the Rwandan arm of UK-based Babylon Healthcare Services, said daily consultations went from about 3,000 in March 2020 to more than 5,000 now. Rocket Health, a Ugandan provider, saw a 500 per cent increase in phone and video consultations in the…

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Global Fund and Tanzania sign new US$112 million grant to support COVID-19 response

Frank

TANZANIA – Tanzania’s partnership with Global Fund has yielded a US$112 million deal to fight the COVID-19 crisis and accelerate the end of the epidemics of HIV, TB and malaria while building resilient and sustainable systems for health. The funds, channeled through the Global Fund’s COVID-19 Response Mechanism, will help Tanzania procure medical oxygen, increase access to COVID-19 diagnostics, protect health workers with personal protective equipment (PPE) This money will also help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on HIV, TB and malaria services, strengthen health systems, particularly laboratory and surveillance…

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Kenya’s Covid positivity rate jumps to 18 percent with 1,006 new cases

Frank

KENYA – Kenya’s Covid-19 positivity rate has shot up to 18 percent as 1,006 new infections are recorded following analysis of 5,584 samples over the past 24 hours. Kenya’s positivity rate has been above 10 percent for the last few days, standing at 13.9 percent on Saturday, 12.2 percent on Sunday and 13.5 percent on Monday and 14.7 percent on Tuesday. Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the number of confirmed infections, since the first one last March, rose to 199,941 while the number of tests carried out so far…

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Tanzania receives first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines since onset of the pandemic

Frank

TANZANIA – Tanzania has welcomed a delivery of one million Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 shots as part of a USA government donation after the African nation’s late president had long resisted accepting any doses. The donation is part of the Biden administration’s commitment first announced last month to donate 25 million coronavirus shots abroad, partially through the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVAX initiative. “We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic,” Donald Wright, the U.S. ambassador to Tanzania…

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Africa nears 6 million confirmed Covid-19 cases as fatalities hit 151,775

Frank

AFRICA — As of today, there are 5,949,740 confirmed cases of Covid-19 from 55 African countries while over 37,004,431 vaccinations have been administered across the continent. Reported deaths in Africa stand at 151,775 and 5,140,313 people have recovered. South Africa has the most reported cases 2,179,297 and 64,138 mortality cases. Other most-affected countries are Morocco (541,405), Tunisia (491,021), Egypt (282,985), Ethiopia (276,984), Libya (201,236) and Kenya (188,513). Many countries in Africa have rolled out mass vaccination drives to contain the spread of the virus, even though the uptake of the…

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