THE government has signed a concessional loan agreement of 550 million US dollars (about 1.264tri/-) and a grant of 29.93 million US dollars (about 68.78bn/-) with World Bank (WB) to implement Tanzania's Maternal and Child Health programme.
The funds will also be spent to support the Tanzania Sustainable Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme.
Speaking during the agreement signing ceremony in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Minister for Finance and Planning, Mr Mwigulu Nchemba said the 304 million US dollars will be for sustainable Rural Water and Sanitation project and 275 million US dollars will be used for the Tanzania maternal and child health project.
"A sum of 304.9 million US dollars will be allocated for the Sustainable Rural Water and Sanitation Project, out of which, 300 million US dollars (equivalent to 689.51bn/-) is an International Development Association (IDA) concessional loan and another 4.93 million US dollars (about 11.32bn/) is a grant from Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP)," said Dr Nchemba.
He added that 275 million US dollars (about 643bn/) is for the Tanzania Maternal and Child Health Project, out of which 250 million US dollars (about 574.59bn/-) is an IDA concessional loan and 25 million US dollars (about 58bn/-) is a grant from the Global Financing Facility for Women Children and Adolescents Multi-Donor Trust Fund
Dr Nchemba said the signed agreement is in line with the Third National Five-Year Development Plan 2021/22-2025/26 and Zanzibar Vision 2050 as well as part of the broad agenda of the sixth phase government under President Samia Suluhu Hassan, which seeks to build a competitive and industrial economy for human development.
The government also prioritises among others, providing an increased access to sources of safe water and improved sanitation as well as address persistent quality gaps in the delivery of health services.
Minister Nchemba said Tanzania prefers to borrow from the World Bank because its interest rate is less than 1 per cent and its repayment period exceeds 30 to 40 years.
"WB's financial terms are economically viable, where the interest rate is 0.75 and the grace period is long with a repayment period of 30 to 40 years, unlike other commercial loans which give a grace period of hardly two years and the repayment period does not exceed 20 years," said Dr Nchemba, adding that the advantage of borrowing from WB is that the money is paid when projects are already completed.
The minister said 73 per cent of the national debt is multilateral as directed by the WB, that is why the Tanzanian economy is stable.
He said debt criteria are sustainable; parameter of the national debt continues to be stable and allows the economy to grow.
Dr Nchemba asked the ministers responsible for the agreements signed yesterday (Minister of Health and Minister of Water) before starting the project to make sure they will provide information on how the projects will be implemented, their benefits for the people and how long they will implement the projects.
On his part, the WB Country Director, Mr Nathan Belete said the projects will address important challenges and help Tanzania achieve its development goals.
Mr Belete said Tanzania has made important progress in improving health outcomes over the past two decades.
He said between 2000 and 2019, life expectancy increased from 51 to 65 years and under-five mortality and infant mortality were reduced by one-third as well as the incidences of vaccine-preventable diseases like diarrheal diseases, malaria and HIV/AIDS dropped.
Mr Belete said despite the impressive progress, some old challenges still persist while new ones have emerged.
He said communicable diseases continue to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality and non-communicable diseases are increasing and neonatal and maternal mortality rates are still very high.
Mr Belete said contributing factors include low quality of care, shortages and inequitable distribution of the health workforce, low functionality of health infrastructure and a weak referral system.
Moreover, he said the new Maternal and Child Health Investment Programme will support the country to improve the quality of essential healthcare services and scale up their delivery, with a focus on maternal and child health.
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Speaking during the event, the Ministry of Health Zanzibar Director General, Dr Amour Mohammed Suleiman said statistics show that during the year 2021, the number of maternal deaths in Zanzibar was more than 75 and the deaths of infants were more than 550.
Dr Mohammed said last year, maternal deaths decreased to between 55 and 60 and child deaths decreased to between 425 and 450.
He said that despite having such statistics, Zanzibar still has work to do to achieve the goal of not having such deaths because most of them are preventable.
On his part, the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Godwin Mollel on behalf of Minister Ummy Mwalimu said that the ministry is well prepared to ensure that the intended purpose will be completed.
Dr Mollel said the project is for five years, which will start from March 2023 to December 2027.
