Program Meeting

Hello from Dar! This week has been particularly interesting as on Monday and Tuesday the UNFPA office had their monthly Program Meeting and I was able to be updated on all the ongoing and future projects the office is managing, as well as the current political and policy climate. As my work is specifically looking at funding of reproductive health, I found the current situation of the “stock out” interesting. 

Apparently Tanzania had been receiving largely its entire supply of condoms donated by The Global Fund, an organization dedicated to fighting HIV/AIDS. Well, unfortunately, the government isn’t receiving funding from them this year, and it’s unclear who is going to fill the void. The UNFPA has been providing condoms on an emergency basis, but currently the government only has a six month supply. Distribution is also a problem with many regional and local health dispensaries are experiencing shortages. Quite a daunting challenge to be facing! 

Just a bit of trivia: The largest brand of condoms here are called "salama", which I've been told can mean security (most commonly), peace, health, safety, privacy, and robustness.

The tag line here says something like "the modern option!"