Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania assumed its present form in 1964 after a merger between mainland Tanganyika and the island of Zanzibar. Although it is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a population that has tripled since 1967, Tanzania has been spared the political instability that has blighted many African countries.

Tanzania's arid interior includes the Serengeti national park and Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa. While the country is bordered by the three largest lakes on the continent, rural areas are very dry, with little opportunity for agriculture.

On average women and children spend over two hours a day collecting water while journeys of six to seven hours are not unusual in areas on the central plateau.

WaterAid in Tanzania

A Masai woman carries a gourd of water in Tanzania.

Credit: WaterAid / Caroline Penn

WaterAid's aim is to improve the lives of poor people in Tanzania through the provision of safe water, sanitation and hygiene education using technologies that are affordable, appropriate to local conditions and easy to maintain by the community themselves. This work is vital as without water and sanitation childhood ailments like diarrhoea are killers (worldwide 5000 children die a day from water-related diseases). Since 2000 the number of children dying before their fifth birthday has risen and more mothers are now dying while giving birth. Essential water and sanitation services are limited - with less than half of the population having access to a latrine.

WaterAid's involvement in Tanzania began in 1983 in the Dodoma Region and continued throughout the 1990s in a collaboration known as WAMMA between WaterAid and water engineers, and hygiene and education staff in the Dodoma Local Government. In the last ten years WaterAid has expanded its presence into the Tabora Region, Singida Region, the Kiteto District of Manyara Region and the Temeke Municipality in Dar es Salaam. We work with a wealth of partners in these regions, including church groups, municipal and district councils and local development organisations.

Well construction, Kashishi village.

Credit: Brent Stirton

WaterAid's partners help communities set up low cost, sustainable projects. The community is asked to determine how much it can afford to pay for running costs and to contribute towards the set up costs. Water supplies are usually established by rehabilitating boreholes or constructing small gravity schemes or shallow wells. In semi-arid areas such as Dodoma, where water tables are very low, diesel engines and pumps are often needed to pump the water from the deep boreholes.

The sanitation programme typically includes the construction of simple pit latrines and dish racks and the digging of rubbish disposal pits. Hygiene education takes various forms, including the child to child approach where children  receive hygiene messages which they pass on to their friends and family. Among other things hygiene messages focus on the importance of hand washing, the safe handling of water, use of latrines and restricting the access of cattle and goats to areas around the home.

Download the Tanzania country information sheet ( PDF 389K)