Tanzania
Capital:
Dodoma
Population:
65.5 million
Area:
945,203
km2

Tanzania is a country of extremes. Great central plains and forested highlands. Tropical savanna and an equatorial shoreline. Africa’s tallest point – Mount Kilimanjaro – and its deepest lake, Tanganyika.

Despite being on course to become a middle-income country, it is also a place of extreme poverty. Two in five people in Tanzania – 25.7 million – don't have clean water close to home, and only about a third have a decent toilet.

We are helping to change this by working with the Government, providing expert training and support to local authorities. We are bringing in our specialist partners in education, gender, disabilities and the environment. Together, we will make clean water, toilets and hygiene normal for everyone in Tanzania.

people don't have clean water close to home. 

That's two in five people.

don't have a decent toilet of their own.

That's seven in ten people.

under the age of five die every year from diarrhoea

caused by dirty water, poor toilets and no hygiene facilities.

Cities of tomorrow

Increased urbanisation in Tanzania means that the inclusion of sanitation and hygiene services in urban planning is key. WaterAid Tanzania’s Joseph Banzi and Priya Sippy discuss findings from a two-year research project in Babati.

The old, and now disused, toilet blocks at the Guse Primary School. With H&M's Conscious Foundation funding, WaterAid Tanzania in collaboration with the Diocese of Mbulu Development Department (DMDD), have constructed new toilet blocks and sanitation  ...
Image: WaterAid/ Eliza Deacon

Keeping kids in school

Image: WaterAid/Eliza Deacon
I have seen a change in behaviour when it comes to hygiene. Students now wash their hands with soap after going to the toilet, and they wash themselves daily. They are even more aware of the environment; you don’t see waste lying around at school anymore.
Agnes Pius, 51 – teacher at Guse Primary School

Agnes Pius has taught in four different schools in Tanzania over the years. She’s no stranger to truancy, but not for the reasons you’d expect. "Students would rather stay home from school than use the old toilets," she explained. “I felt sorry for children who used them.”

More and more children are enrolling in Tanzania’s schools, but the number of toilets and water points hasn’t caught up.

With our local partner, we have built a new toilet block for Guse Primary School. There are water points too, accessible to younger children and people with disabilities. Girls can now manage their periods safely and privately.

“I’m happy,” said Agnes. “Now we have healthy and clean children who are keen to further their education.”

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