The incidence of both HIV/AIDS and TB in Tanzania greatly exceed rates in most of the world. It is estimated that HIV infects about 8 percent of Tanzanian adults; about 1.3 million Tanzanians are living with HIV/AIDS, and many have already died. Over 80 percent of AIDS patients are in the 20-49 age group. Thus, AIDS strikes down many Tanzanian workers and parents, simultaneously disrupting the economic and social life of the country. 800,000 Tanzanian children have lost one or both parents to the disease.

There are also 363 TB cases per 100,000 population in Tanzania, a rate higher than in many neighboring countries. Tanzania has instituted 100 percent DOTS coverage, and the TB treatment success rate is close to 81 percent.

Malaria is endemic throughout Tanzania, with the exception of the northern highlands region in the vicinity of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Malaria currently accounts for approximately 17 percent of deaths in Tanzania; as is the case elsewhere, malaria is most likely to kill children under the age of five. One 1995 study by the Swiss Tropical Institute estimated that malaria accounts for 29 percent of childhood deaths in Tanzania.

Sources: Synergy Project, World Bank, BBC country profile, CIA Factbook, WHO 2004 Global Tuberculosis Report,

Tanzania first recorded an outbreak of AIDS in 1983 and has had a National AIDS Control Program since 1985. In order to better coordinate the national response to the AIDS epidemic, President Benjamin Mkapa formed the Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) in December, 2000. TACAIDS is expected to provide strategic direction in implementing the Ministry of Health’s Third Medium Term Plan (MTP-III) for combating AIDS. With the help of the international donor community, Tanzania plans to roll out a national free ARV distribution program in October of 2004. The ARV distribution program is expected to cost around $100 million per year for the next five years, and will be made possible by assistance from the WHO, the GFATM, the Bill Clinton Foundation, and the US Presidential Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief.

A key component of Tanzania's anti-malaria program is the distribution of impregnated bednets, which were shown in a 1996 study to be effective against the spread of malaria. Because malaria, which accounts for 30 percent of years of life lost to disease in Tanzania, poses its greatest threat to young children and to pregnant women, the government's goal is to have 60 percent of those vulnerable populations sleeping under bednets by 2005. In recent years the Tanzanian government significantly increased the proportion of its health budget devoted to fighting malaria, from 5 percent to 25 percent.

Sources: AllAfrica.com, from IRIN, June 14, 2004; WHO Report 2002; World Bank (Report No. PID10683); International Development Research Centre (IDRC - Canada)

Demographic data contained in this section was obtained from the following sources: The Population Reference Bureau’s 2009 World Population Data Sheet was used for total population, life expectancy at birth, infant mortality, fertility, birth rate, death rate, % of married women 15-49 using modern methods of contraception, % of population 15-49 with HIV/AIDS in 2007/2008, and the GNI PPP per capita (2008). Literacy rates were found in the Population Reference Bureau’s publication 2005 Women of Our World. HIV prevalence data for 2001 and 2003 was obtained from the UNAIDS Barcelona 2002 report; HIV prevalence and orphan data for 2005 was obtained from the UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2006. Data on the % women who have discussed AIDS prevention with their husband or partner can be found in ORC Macro and USAID’s Women’s Lives and Experiences: Changes in the Past Ten Years (Research Findings from the Demographic and Health Surveys). Childhood malaria mortality data was accessed in 2003 from the United Nations Statistics Divisions’ Millennium Indicators. Tuberculosis data was obtained from the United Nations Statistics Division’s Millennium Indicators: MDGInfo 2006. In some cases information was unavailable.

Sources: Tanzania National Website, WHO

African Malaria Vaccine Testing Network ( website )

Hubert Kairuki Memorial University (HKMU), Faculty of Medicine ( website )

Muhimbili University College of Medical Research ( website )

Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences is collaborating with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in the following tuberculosis-related research projects:

• Development of novel targets for a diagnostic test for tuberculosis. (Principal Investigator: Ruth McNerney) The objective of this study is to develop faster diagnostic tools for screening drug-resistant TB. Molecular tools, microwell colorimetric liquid culture, and bacteriophage replication technologies will be studied, and TB resistance to rifampicin, isoniazid, streptomycin and ethambutol will be investigated. IAEA is funding this study.

Muhimbili Hospital in Dar es Salaam is one of several sites involved in UNAIDS' Perinatal TRAnsmission (PETRA) study on mother-to-child transmission of AIDS. Early results have found that anti-retroviral treatment begun at the time of delivery and continued for one week can reduce the chance of HIV transmission by 37 percent. UNAIDS organized the PETRA trials with significant contributions from the CDC, NIH, and the French Agence Nationale de Recherche sur le Sida (ANRS). The PETRA study received financial support from:

• Australian AID
• Istituto Superiore di Sanita (Italy)
• Het AIDS Fonds (Netherlands)
• The Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries

The Muhimbili Hospital study is part of NIH’s HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN).

National Institute for Medical Research ( website )

The Joint Malaria Programme (JMP) is a collaboration between the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College (KCMC), the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and the Center for Medical Parasitology (CMP) at the University of Copenhagen.

The National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) is leading the Molecular Epidemiology and Modelling the Spread of Anti-Malarial Drug Resistance project, the objective of which (according to the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria) is to: "Validate molecular markers of drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum and investigate their relevance to the spread of drug resistant malaria." Collaborating institutions include: Tanzania Ministry of Health, Muhimbili University, Swiss Tropical Institute, and the University of Maryland.

Tanzanian Essential Health Interventions Project (TEHIP) ( website )

The African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF)

AMREF and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine LSHTM have collaborated for over a decade in an HIV/STD control project in the Mwanza Region. They have recently completed a three-year study which shows that prevention and treatment of other STDs can reduce the transmission of HIV by as much as 40 percent.

The Ifakara Health Research and Development Center ( website )

The Center's most important project in recent years was a randomized trial of SPf66 malaria vaccine in infants. Richard Hayes of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) acted as the principal investigator in this project, which concluded that the vaccine did not have protective properties for infants. An earlier study had shown the vaccine to have limited protective value for children ages 1-4.

The Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College (KCMC) ( website )

Vignan's International Medical & Technological University, Faculty of Medicine ( website )

1. The CDC plans to become involved in fighting HIV/AIDS in Tanzania as part of its Global AIDS Program. Key components of the CDC plan include:
   • Improving blood safety by checking all blood donations for HIV.
   • Increasing Tanzania's laboratory capacity to support HIV testing.
   • Expanding voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) services, especially for youth.
   • Strengthening programs for the treatment
   ... additional information

2. The GFATM has approved two large grants to address HIV/AIDS and malaria In Tanzania. The grants are for $103 and $54 million, respectively. Grant agreements for all of thse grants have not yet been signed.

   Source: GFATM