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USAID Information:
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Tanzania
The Development Challenge: Following decades of socialism and economic stagnation, Tanzania embarked on a fundamental political and economic transformation in the early 1990s. The nation's first multi-party elections were held in 1995. A sea of change is now underway, driven increasingly by a new generation of leaders. Tanzania has made significant strides in its conversion to a market-based economy. The government has undertaken reforms to contain inflation, control public expenditures and curb deficit spending, streamline the civil service, divest more than three hundred public enterprises, and pursue privatization of the key water, electricity, railroads, and telecommunications sectors. Tanzania's annual gross domestic product grew about 5.5% in 2002, building on an economic growth trend that is among the best in sub-Saharan Africa. In return, under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative, the country benefits from public sector international debt relief, which freed an estimated $85 million last year for the pursuit of health and education objectives.
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However, Tanzania still faces formidable impediments to progress toward its democratization and development goals. Challenges include structural obstacles to economic growth, institutional and human capacity limitations, corruption, the government's uneasy relationship with civil society organizations (CSOs), population growth, high rates of infectious disease, and unsustainable natural resource exploitation. Tanzania ranked 160 out of 175 countries in the 2003 United Nations Development Program Human Development Index. The World Bank estimates Tanzania's 2003 per capita income at $277. Roughly half the population of 34.6 million subsists on less than $0.65 per day, with 40% of Tanzanians unable to meet their basic daily needs. Only 76% of adults are literate. Although primary school is free and mandatory, the enrollment rate is only 59%, with just 7% in secondary school. Life expectancy is 50 years and falling, while the infant mortality rate is 104 per 1,000 and rising. Both these phenomena are largely attributable to a national HIV/AIDS infection rate for which estimates vary around 11%. Democracy remains fragile. Observers deemed Tanzania's 1995 and 2000 elections to have been free and fair on the mainland, but deeply flawed in Zanzibar, where bloodshed followed the contest in 2000. The two main parties have since negotiated a political reconciliation accord, and Zanzibar's 2003 by-elections occurred in a peaceful, fair environment. In October 2005, general elections will test the durability of the electoral process and institutions of democratic governance.
U.S. national interests in Tanzania are two-fold. First, Tanzania plays a constructive role among its East and Central African neighbors in leading efforts to resolve regional conflicts peacefully and hosting 469,000 documented refugees. Second, Tanzania is a key ally in combating terrorism. In a volatile region, it is a stable country progressing on a path of democratic governance and market-based economic reform and growth, and offering avenues for outreach to a large Muslim population.
The USAID Program: USAID assistance helps Tanzania tackle its most compelling development challenges: ensuring a healthy population; expanding productive, income-generating opportunities; managing and sustaining wildlife and coastal resources; and creating capacity for effective governance responsive to civil society. FY 2004 funds will continue to help increase the use of reproductive and child health services and, as part of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS by building demand for and availability of quality services. Additionally, a country team HIV/AIDS Working Group, headed by the Chief of Mission, is laying the groundwork for a major expansion of programs, especially for prevention and care, under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), for which Tanzania is a focus country. Assistance for rural income generation will concentrate on small farmer productivity and competitiveness, encouraging the development of effective enterprises and producer associations, and promoting trade. FY 2004 funds will continue to build the capacity of indigenous CSOs to pursue their objectives: to help the Tanzanian Parliament improve legislative performance; facilitate constructive relationships between CSOs and Parliament; support civic education; and complete funding for a two-year Muslim education activity. Environmental program funds in FY 2004 will promote policy and legislative reform, community-based natural resource management, conservation enterprise development, and improved coastal and protected area management.
Funds requested for FY 2005 will initiate a new USAID country strategy for Tanzania that builds on successes achieved under the current strategy. While funding will continue to be directed to the same sectors, some shifts in program emphasis will occur. Substantially more funding is expected for HIV/AIDS under the PEPFAR, leading to expanded as well as new activities in behavior change communication, anti-retroviral therapy, care and treatment, and support systems for community-based orphan care. The governance program will heighten attention to governmental accountability. Increased community participation in the management of and benefits from natural resources will be a funding priority. Expanding rural income opportunities and improving food security through more competitive agriculture-based enterprise and trade will feature prominently, with resources from the Initiative to End Hunger in Africa. USAID/Tanzania will receive Africa Education Initiative funding for in-service teacher training. USAID also will initiate a program support objective, managed by the Mission, to ensure that cross-cutting themes (e.g., gender, public-private partnerships, governance and information and communication technology) are fully integrated into the entire program.
Tanzania is a focus country under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). All proposed HIV/AIDS activities are being integrated into PEPFAR and are subject to the approval of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. Additional funding from the Global HIV/AIDS Initiative account is anticipated for both FY 2004 and FY 2005.
Other Program Elements: Central funding from The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization helps Tanzania develop sustainable immunization programs. Regional Africa programs support the Commonwealth Regional Health Community Secretariat to promote policy reform and dialogue with Commonwealth countries. The Global Conservation Program supports Tanzanian biodiversity conservation efforts in Northern Tanzania and along the coast. Education for Development and Democracy Initiative (EDDI) scholarships provided Tanzanian girls the opportunity to complete secondary school. EDDI funds also were used to install a community development center at Zanzibar's Karume Technical College. The center offers comprehensive, state of the art information technology training and greater access to technology for the college and surrounding communities. The Famine Early Warning System furnishes food availability information to the Government of Tanzania.
Other Donors: Japan (agriculture, transport) and the United Kingdom (public sector finance, agriculture) together provide more than one-third of bilateral assistance. Other bilateral donors include Denmark (health); Sweden and Germany (information technology, wildlife); Norway (energy); and the Netherlands (rural development). The United States is the lead bilateral donor for HIV/AIDS and for wildlife and coastal resource management. USAID activities in health and governance attract contributions from several bilateral donors. Multilateral donors include the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which provide over 50% of all multilateral financing; the United Nations agencies; the African Development Bank (rural micro-enterprises) and the European Union (rural roads, basic education). The Development Assistance Committee donors have created an Independent Monitoring Group which periodically assesses coordination and the donor relationship with government, and recommends improvements.
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