Life in Tanzania

Mount Kilimanjaro provides a stark backdrop for the town of Moshi, situated in Northern Tanzania. Moshi town is a place where worlds collide, where young men with mobile phones sit outside their mud homes and women from rural villages walk many miles to sell bananas at markets.  However, a few kilometres outside of the town the influence of modern technology is much less apparent. While access to basic health care and schools is available close to the town, rural villages often lack necessities such as running water and electricity.

Life in Tanzania is not easy, but a stable government and fertile land enable people to make a living. Improvements in healthcare and education, as well as economic growth, have raised the standard of living in recent years. However, there are many sections of society these raised standards of living have not yet reached. Due to a lack of income many of Tanzania’s children have no access to secondary school or further education. This inevitably leads to future unemployment and a continuation of the cycle of poverty. Furthermore, most of the increased standards of living have recently been eroded due to the staggering impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Tanzania’s HIV prevalence rate is estimated to be 4.5% (UNAIDS 2021) and this figure increases to up 11% in some areas and social groups. 

While devastating to the economy and society of Tanzania, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been especially damaging to the lives of the children. HIV/AIDS tends to strike the most active members of society, those aged 15 to 49, and therefore an extraordinary number of children have lost one or both parents to the disease. These children are forced to find homes with relatives or guardians. Some find themselves as head of their households, responsible for their younger siblings, all of which leaves them particularly vulnerable to exploitation. Without parents to care for them these children too often slip through the cracks, drop out of school and fall prey to illness and malnutrition.

Realizing the right to learn, Tanzania has significantly expanded school enrolment in recent years, especially among girls. However, there is still a long way to go in ensuring Tanzanian children receive an education.

·      3.2 million children aged 7–17 years old are out of school, of which 1.2 million have never attended.

·      The primary school completion rate currently sits at 58%.

·      The net secondary enrolment rate is only 27%.

·      Rural and poor girls are the most affected with higher dropout rates from age 12 onwards due to inadequate WASH facilities, menstruation, having to help with raising younger family members and child marriage.

·      75 is the average number of school children per classroom

·      In 2024 it is reported that 25.5 million Tanzanian’s are living in extreme poverty, which is less than USD$1.90 per day.

·      Child slavery is an issue of great concern in Tanzania and it is estimated that more than 1 millions children are forced into slavery, which consists of domestic work, mining, agricultural labour and at its very worst, sexual slavery.

·      Tanzania is the most populated country south of the equator and the 22^nd most populated country in the world.

Tanzania is a country where woman's rights leave much to be desired. Often it is the boys who are chosen to attend school while the girls remain at home. Domestic violence and abuse of women is a widespread, yet a largely undocumented problem in Tanzania. Women who find themselves in such situations often have no way to escape. In addition, since the man is traditionally the bread winner, death by accident or disease of the husband can often leave the remaining wife and children without many options or ways to make a living.

·      22.7% of teenage girls aged between 15-19 years fall pregnant

·      High levels of violence against women, nearly 5 in every 10 women

·      3 in every 10 men believe that a husband is justified in beating his wife.

·      3 in 10 children in mainland Tanzania are suffering from high levels of malnutrition

·      Only 57.5% of girls in mainland Tanzania practise safe menstruation (access to safe menstrual products, comprehensive knowledge and supportive environment).

·      29.1% of women aged between 20-24 years were first married by aged 18.

It is in this stark backdrop Path to Africa works to improve the lives of those most vulnerable.

Source : Unicef – Journey of a Child Factsheet 2024