the united republic of tanzania health sector hiv and aids strategic plan

1.1.3. Geographic and administrative
Tanzania mainland has 21 regions and about 121 districts. Each district is divided into divisions, which in
turn are composed, of 3-4 wards (5-7 villages form a ward). The district is the most important
administrative and implementation unit for public services. For this reason the Ministry of Health and Social
Welfare (MOHSW) in collaboration with the Prime Minister’s Office Regional Administration and Local
Government (PORALG) through the Health Sector and Local Government reforms are currently
strengthening the district health services, making the districts the focus for health development.
1.1.4. Demographic and Socio-economic
The Tanzania Mainland has an estimated 2007 population of 38,710,723 million projected from the 2002
population Census . It has an annual population growth rate of 2.9%. Crude birth rate is 42.5 per 1,000
populations and life expectancy at birth is 47 years for men and 49 years for women. Thirty three percent
(33%) of the population resides in urban areas whereas the majority (77%) of population is rural dwellers.
Table1. Demographic and socioeconomic parameters
Parameter 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Total population 37,452,378 38,710,723 40,005,918 41,338,695 42,709,649 43,484,118 44,523,388
Above 15 21,024,544 21,710,169 22,436,576 23,218,500 24,030,512 24,466,266 25,051010
Growth rate 2.11% 2.39% 2.39% 2.39% 2.39% 2.39 2.39
0 – 11 Months 1,570,943 1,606,401 1,642,882 1,680,580 1,719,334 1,758,088 1,798,088
Under 5 Years 7,012,134 7,215,011 7,418,446 7,612,290 7,801,587 7,990,884 8,180,884
Under 15 Years 16,427,834 17,000,554 17,569,342 18,120,195 18,679,137 19,679,137 19,472,378
CBAW(15-49 yrs) 8,003,907 9,114,964 9,424,784 9,750,742 10,459,146 11,167,550 11,875,954
Crude birth rate 39.2 39.7 39.7 39.7 39.7 39.7 39.7
Source – National Bureau of Statistics – Population Census results (2002) and National projections (2006)
1.1.5. General health and nutrition status
According to TDHS 2004-2005 report, the current infant mortality and under five-year are 68 and 112 per
1,000 live births respectively whilst the maternal mortality is estimated at 578 deaths per 100,000 live
births. The nutritional status shows a slight improvement , for instance stunting changed from 44% (2000)
to 38% (2004/5) while wasting changed from 5% to 3% over the same period. The underweight improved
from 29% to 22%.
1.1.6. HIV and AIDS
1.1.6.1. Burden of disease
The Tanzania HIV/AIDS Indicator Survey (THIS) of 2003/4 shows that the predominant mode of
transmission has remained heterosexual contact, constituting about 80% of all new infections. Mother to
child transmission is estimated to account for about 18% of new infections. About 1.8% of young persons
aged 15 to 24 who reported that they never had sex were found to be HIV positive. This suggests that they
were infected through blood transfusion, unsafe injections or traditional practices, including male
circumcision or female genital cutting i .
Recent studies indicate that in some parts of the country, transmission through anal sexual intercourse
(heterosexual or among men who have sex with men) as well as HIV infection through drug abuse are
occurring and may be important factors for the further spread of HIV.
Tanzania is facing a ‘generalized ii ’ epidemic of HIV. The overall prevalence in the sexually active population
(age 15 to 49) is 7.0%, with women being more affected than men (7.7% versus 6.3%). This results in a
female/male ratio of 1.2 to 1.
13 |FINAL COMBINED-HSHSP 2008-2012: June 24 th 2007