All the youngins

I’d briefly mentioned previously how Tanzania was unique in its very young population. I thought I would just expand on that. Nearly two out of every three (or over 60% ) of Tanzanians are under the age of 25 and one out of three is between 10 and 24. By comparison, globally only 43% of the population is under 25.

  As of 2010, one in every six girls 15-19 is married and the country has one of the highest adolescent pregnancy and birth rates in the world.[1]  Birth rates have been high for so long there is such population momentum that even if fertility rates were to decrease now, it is probable that the population will continue to grow for the remainder of this century. [2] High adolescent fertility contributes to the rapid population growth and puts pressure on government budgets, slowing national development.  

 

  Despite this reality, government spending on reproductive health doesn’t seem to be a priority. The government has signed the Abuja Declaration, which states that 15% of government expenditure should be on health. Yet that has never been achieved and this year the estimate is around 8% (to be finalized in the next few weeks). Within the health sector, there is no national standard on spending on RH, but it remains low. Councils or regional health bodies dedicated just 7% on average. And within that, family planning and adolescent sexual reproductive health programs are chronically underfunded. The maternal mortality rate is staggeringly high, and rightly a priority, but unfortunately often at the expense of other RH programs. (See http://www.indexmundi.com/map/?v=2223 for an interactive map showing the world's most dangerous places to be a mother) 

One Hospital Reproductive and Child Health Coordinator explained, “If a mother dies for lack of [delivery services] , providers will be put to task. But when there is lack of FP services, the consequences are farfetched and therefore there is no pressure on them”. [3]  

 UNFPA is working to advocate for family planning prioritization without detracting from efforts to reduce maternal mortality, to show that women are healthier and have healthier pregnancies when they are able to space and plan their families. 

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[1] “Adolescents in Tanzania” Unicef  United Republic of Tanzania (September 2011) http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/files/TANZANIA_ADOLESCENT_REPORT_Final.pdf  Pg. 4

[2] Tanzania: Population, Reproductive Health and Development” Population Planning Section, Ministry of Planning Economy and Empowerment USAID. (December 2006) http://ebookbrowse.com/348-1-tanzania-rapid-english-acc-pdf-d398446221 Pg. 9

[3] A COMPREHENSIVE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH COMMODITY SECURITY (RHCS) ASSESSMENT IN TANZANIA MAINLAND

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