Tanzania: background information

Some 80% of the population depend on subsistence level farming.

Credit: WaterAid / Alex Macro

Over 30 million people populate this East African state, four times the size of the UK.

Geographically, its diverse countryside and coastlines are unequivocally beautiful. The Ngorogoro Crater and Mount Kilimanjaro feature particularly, and there is a unique abundance and diversity of wildlife, especially within the Serengeti National Park.

The climate ranges from tropical near the coast to temperate in the highlands, whilst the land consists of coastal plains, a central plateau and highlands in the north and south.

Some 80% of the population depend on subsistence level farming, and Tanzania remains one of the poorest countries of the world (156 of 174 in the UN's Human Development Index), with huge external debt.

Furthermore, despite high infant mortality, AIDS, and a life expectancy of no more than 50 or so, the population is still on the increase.

In the first five years following independence in 1961, President Julius Nyerere's government pursued a World Bank supported market economic policy, but lacking the necessary foreign investment, this did not produce the hoped for growth, and many more socialist policies have been adopted since.

These, together with tighter financial management since 1995 (three years after the establishment of multi-party democracy) have produced greater economic stability, but have shown no significant reduction in poverty.

Recent Ministry of Water figures suggest that 70% of the rural population, and 30% of urban dwellers have no access to safe water.

Credit: WaterAid / Jim Holmes

Recent Ministry of Water figures suggest that 70% of the rural population, and 30% of urban dwellers have no access to safe water. Unsurprisingly, diarrhoea is said to account for at least 20% of infant deaths.

After the failure in the 1980s of concerted direct action by the government to improve water and sanitation provision, a new National Water Policy was put in place in 1991 with the emphasis on community empowerment and control. The role of the Ministry of Water itself changed from implementation to promotion, facilitation and regulation.

However, in reality emphasis remained on the central government as the sole implementer and provider of water and sanitation services, leading to unsustainable management and development of water resources.

The 1991 policy was revised in 2002 with the National Water Policy (NAWAPO), which introduced elements of devolution and public and civil service reforms as well as full cost recovery for water supply operations and maintenance costs.