Tanzania

Switzerland is helping to fight poverty in the central corridor of Tanzania (regions around Dodoma). It is engaged in activities aimed at improving access to high-quality healthcare, promoting employment and improving incomes in rural areas, and strengthening civil society and independent media.

For decades, Tanzania has been improving its Human Development Index (HDI). Nonetheless, it ranked just 154th out of 189 countries in 2017. Its ranking is mainly due to inequalities between rural and urban populations: the proportion of people living below the poverty line is more than 30% in rural areas compared to 4% in Dar es Salaam. Tanzania's ambition is to become a middle-income country by 2025.

From a societal point of view, Tanzania has made progress although achievement of the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals varies greatly from one sector to another: in school education, for example, Tanzania has almost reached universal access but still faces problems in terms of quality. Child mortality has been significantly reduced. The situation of Tanzanian women, particularly girls, remains precarious, particularly given the high rates of early marriage and pregnancy and the prevalence of violence against women.

Health

Accessible, high-quality care

Switzerland is working to improve the availability and quality of medical care for communities in remote areas. The emphasis is on consolidating the system of funding, decentralising the health system and promoting research projects to identify the country's medical priorities.

Fighting malaria

The SDC is supporting the Tanzanian government in implementing a national programme to combat malaria. The programme helped reduce the malaria mortality rate by half between 2005 and 2016.

Health – A prerequisite for development

Governance

Transparency and responsibility 

Switzerland promotes dialogue between civil society and the authorities with the aim of fostering a culture of transparency and civic responsibility. Switzerland also aims to strengthen local authorities’ capacity to provide better services, and it supports the government in combating corruption.

Swiss international cooperation provides financial assistance to independent media, especially rural radio stations to ensure that the public has access to high-quality information and people are able to assert their rights more effectively.

Conflict prevention

Switzerland implements conflict-prevention measures with the aim of strengthening inter-community dialogue, particularly by involving religious leaders.

Democratization - Fundamental for effective aid

Fragility and violence impede poverty reduction

Economic development

Farmers' organisations defending their interests

Switzerland supports the development of the agricultural sector to create economic opportunities for the rural population, particularly women and young people. Farmers' organisations need to be able to defend the interests of their members in order to improve their living conditions, by ensuring their interests are taken into account in government policy.

More jobs for young people

Switzerland is helping young people to access the labour market by bringing the content of vocational training courses into line with the skills sought by employers. The SDC supports vocational skills development projects for young people in rural areas who have dropped out of school. It is also actively involved in the vocational skills development system, upstream in the training of trainers and in the development of suitable programmes.

State and Economic Reforms

Transversal themes

Gender equality and HIV/AIDS

Switzerland actively promotes gender equality in all of its projects. Another of its central concerns is to prevent HIV/AIDS by raising people's awareness of the issue and calling for non-discrimination.

Gender equality – gender and women's rights

Approach and partners

Switzerland closely coordinates its aid with the Tanzanian authorities, other donor countries and international organisations. To achieve its goals, it cooperates in different ways with Tanzanian, Swiss and international agencies (contributing to projects, mandates).

• Swiss NGOs: Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, Swisscontact, Solidarmed
• Research: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Ifakara Health Institute
• Government: ministries; regional/local authorities
• Tanzanian NGOs: Foundation for Civil Society, Tanzania Media Fund, Policy Forum, Tanzanian Forest Conservation Group, Agriculture Non-State Actors Forum (ANSAF), MWIVATA (national network of smallholders farmers), among others.
• International NGOs: SNV, Simavi
• Multilateral organisations: World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank, UNESCO
• Bilateral aid donors: public development agencies (Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland)

History of cooperation

Projects in a single region

Switzerland has been involved in development cooperation in Tanzania since 1960. Its activities were stepped up in 1981 when it opened a cooperation office in Dar es Salaam. Its programme is aligned with Tanzania's poverty reduction strategy and coordinated with the work of other countries and international organisations. Political and technical dialogue with partner agencies takes place at both central and local level. Switzerland's cooperation strategy for 2015–20 aims to reduce poverty in Tanzania by supporting the development of an equitable society and growth for all.