DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Oct 28 (IPS) – When COVID-19 hit Tanzania in 2020, Alfred Kisena’s life was torn apart. The 51-year-old teacher still remembers the evening he heard that his wife Maria had succumbed to the virus in a hospital in Dar es Salaam. He was not allowed to see her in her last moments.
“The doctors said it was too dangerous and that the virus was contagious,” Kisena said, staring at a faded photo of her hanging on the wall.
Maria’s funeral took place in eerie isolation. Municipal workers, dressed in white protective clothing, lowered her body into a tomb at the Ununio cemetery on the outskirts of the city.
“Saying goodbye to a loved one is sacred, but I didn’t get a chance,” he said.
Across Tanzania, many families have endured the same pain: losing loved ones and being denied the rituals that give meaning to loss. The government imposed strict measures: banning gatherings, limiting hospital visits and banning traditional funeral rituals. The schools closed and Kisena’s five children stayed at home for three months; their education was abruptly stopped.
“I wasn’t working, so it was difficult to provide for my family’s needs,” he said. “We survived on the little savings I had.”
Five years later, as the scars of that crisis linger, Tanzania is charting a new path to resilience. Earlier this month, the government launched its first-ever Pandemic Fund Project, aimed at strengthening the country’s capacity to prevent and respond to health crises.
Supported by a $25 million grant from the Global Pandemic Fund and $13.7 million in co-financing, the initiative marks a shift from reactive crisis management to proactive preparedness. It brings together local and international partners – including WHO, UNICEF and FAO – under a ‘One Health’ framework that recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal and environmental health.
Learning from the past
Memories of COVID-19 and Marburg’s more recent outbreak remain vivid. When the pandemic first struck, Tanzania’s laboratories were underequipped, surveillance systems were weak, and community health workers were overwhelmed.
Speaking at the launch, Tanzania’s Deputy Prime Minister Doto Biteko said the lessons from these crises shaped the country’s new resolve.
“Over the past two decades, the world has faced multiple health emergencies, and Tanzania is no exception,” he said. “We have seen how pandemics disrupt lives and economies. Strengthening our ability to prepare and respond is not optional – it is a necessity.”
That need has only grown as Tanzania faces increasing risks of zoonotic diseases linked to deforestation, wildlife trafficking and climate change. The new project aims to address these vulnerabilities by upgrading laboratories, expanding disease surveillance and training health workers across the country.
The human frontlines
In the southern district of Kisarawe, 38-year-old health worker Ana Msechu walks along dusty roads carrying a backpack containing medicines, gloves and medical records.
“Sometimes I walk three hours to reach just one family,” Msechu said. “During the pandemic, people stopped trusting us. They thought we were bringing the disease.”
Lacking protective equipment or transportation allowance, Msechu faced the villagers’ suspicions head-on. At the height of the pandemic, she lost a colleague to the virus. Yet she continued to deliver messages about hygiene and vaccination.
“Sometimes we didn’t even have masks, but instead we used pieces of cloth,” she recalls.
According to her, the new initiative could change that. Implementing partners plan to provide personal protective equipment (PPE), digital data collection tools and regular training sessions.
“If we get the right support and respect, we can save many lives before diseases spread,” she said.
“Community health workers are the backbone of resilience,” said Patricia Safi Lombo, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Tanzania. “They are the first point of contact for families and play a crucial role in providing life-saving information and services.”
UNICEF’s role will focus on risk communication and community engagement – ensuring people in rural and urban areas understand preventive measures, recognize early symptoms and trust the healthcare system.
Between fear and duty
Hamisi Mjema, a health volunteer in Kilosa district, remembers how fear became his biggest enemy.
When the Marburg virus struck last year, his job was to track down suspected cases and educate families about isolation.
“I have been insulted many times, and some families would not even let me into their homes,” he said.
Without transportation or communication, Hamisi walked his bicycle from one remote village to another, often relying on farmers to share their phone airtime so he could report cases to district health officials.
Under the new initiative, local health officials will receive field kits, digital disease reporting tools and risk communication materials in local languages.
“It will make our work safer and faster,” he said. “If we discover something early, the whole country benefits.”
Combating disinformation
In a lakeside village in Kigoma, volunteer health educator Fatuma Mfaume recalls how rumors once spread faster than the virus itself.
“People were scared,” she said. “They said vaccines would make women infertile. Others believed doctors were poisoning us.”
Armed with a megaphone, Mfaume went through villages in an attempt to dispel untruths – often confronted with insults. But her perseverance was rewarded. Slowly, women started vaccinating their children again.
With the new project, she hopes community workers like her will receive formal recognition and training in communication skills.
“Many of us work without pay,” Mfaume said. “If this project can educate us properly and provide us with materials, we can fight not only disease, but also fear and lies.”
Animal-induced threats
At the same time, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is strengthening animal health systems, recognizing that most pandemics originate in animals.
“By improving coordination between veterinary and public health services, Tanzania is taking crucial steps to prevent zoonotic diseases before they spread to humans,” said Stella Kiambi, team leader of FAO’s Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases.
These measures include upgrading veterinary laboratories, improving disease surveillance at livestock markets and training field officers to detect early signs of outbreaks.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also supports efforts to strengthen human health care systems – from expanding testing capacity to developing rapid response teams.
“This project marks a bold step forward in healthcare,” said Dr. Galbert Fedjo, WHO Health Systems Coordinator. “It promotes a One Health approach that connects human, animal and environmental health.”
Restoring confidence and hope
For Priya Basu, executive head of the Pandemic Fund, the Tanzanian project represents “an important step in strengthening the country’s preparedness to prevent and respond to future health threats.”
Across Africa, the Fund – established in 2022 – has supported 47 projects in 75 countries with $885 million in grants, catalyzing more than $6 billion in additional financing.
According to the World Bank, every dollar invested in pandemic preparedness can save up to $20 in economic losses during an outbreak.
For Tanzania – a country that has lost thousands of lives and suffered deep economic shocks during COVID-19 – the stakes could not be higher.
“Preparedness is about saving lives and livelihoods,” says Dr. Ali Mzige, a public health expert. “It’s about making sure families don’t suffer when a pandemic hits.”
For Kisena, the government’s new initiative is a silent promise that the lessons of loss have not been forgotten.
“Mary’s death taught me how precious life is,” he said. “If this project can protect even one family from that kind of pain, it means her death was not in vain.
IPS UN office report
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