United Republic of Tanzania

This Weekly Bulletin focuses on selected acute public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 71 events in the region. This week’s edition covers key new and ongoing events, including:

832,989 movements were tracked through IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) in East and the Horn of Africa (EHoA) in 2018. Thirty-eight per cent of the movements were tracked along the Eastern Route, fifty-two per cent along the Horn of Africa Route, four per cent along the Northern Route and six per cent along the Southern Route. Thirty per cent intended to travel to Somalia, thirty per cent were migrating towards KSA, fifteen per cent were headed to Ethiopia, eight per cent to Yemen and seven per cent to Djibouti.

Highlights

Late April and early May rainfall unlikely to ease on-going severe drought in Eastern Horn

KEY MESSAGES

• Below-average rainfall performance, abnormally high land surface temperatures, and poor vegetation conditions continued in April over much of the equatorial sector of East Africa. Drought conditions persist despite an increase in rainfall in late April and early May, which was driven in part by the presence of tropical cyclone Kenneth.

URBAN SETTLEMENTS WORKING GROUP

EDITORIAL

FROM THE CHIEF OF MISSION’S DESK

Welcome to the March-April 2019 edition of the IOM Burundi newsletter. This edition’s highlights include IOM’s efforts to strengthen public health emergency preparedness and response in Burundi and the DRC, the donation of IT equipment and solar power systems at border posts with Tanzania, reintegration and protection initiatives for returnees from Tanzania, the launch of “Rungika” remittance service and the construction of a playground for Congolese refugee children, among others.

347,155 Burundian Refugees As Of 31 Dec 2018
US$ 391M Requirements In 2018
33% Funding Received In 2018
27 RRRP Partners Involved

REGIONAL SITUATION OVERVIEW

Abnormally dry conditions develop in Nigeria following another week of below-average rainfall

Africa Weather Hazards

1. Rainfall deficits since the beginning of the southern African monsoon have negatively affected many countries in the region, including southern Angola, northern Namibia, southern Zambia, and northern Zimbabwe.

2. Continued below-average rainfall and high temperatures have strengthened dryness in South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania.

• The 2018/19 season, the driest season since at least 1981 in central and western parts of the region, was marked by delayed and erratic onset of rains, midseason dry spells, and early cessation of rains. From October 2018 to early April 2019, parts of southern Angola, northern Namibia, southern Botswana, northern South Africa, southern Zambia and northern Zimbabwe registered significantly below average rainfall (50%~ below average, Figure 1).

Highlights

In line with seasonal trends, national average maize prices in most countries in the southern Africa region were on an upward trend in February and March, before the beginning of the main harvest season.

Regional maize supply for the 2019/20 marketing season is expected to be tight owing to lower harvests in key producing countries such as South Africa and Zambia. The latter saw maize price spikes in multiple markets in March, and an export ban on maize grain and meal has been in effect since mid-April.

Situation Overview

The United Republic of Tanzania was host to 84,347 refugees and asylum-seekers from the DRC, as of 31 December 2018, representing the 25.8 per cent of the total refugee population in the country. The majority of refugees, some 84,246, continued to reside in the refugee camp of Nyarugusu and the remaining population in urban areas.

By ROSE MIREMBE

A week after the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first vaccine for dengue, Dengvaxia, Tanzania is working to contain the spread of an outbreak that was first reported last month, with increased surveillance.

According to the Ministry of Health about 1,222 people have been diagnosed with dengue fever in Dar es Salaam, Dodoma and Singida Regions, a steep rise from the 304 cases reported in April. Two people have since died.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The Tanzanian Urban Resilience Program is harnessing local tools and knowledge to conduct soil sampling and create a comprehensive soil map that will inform flood mitigation measures and urban planning to save lives and contribute to development

• Soil erosion contributes considerably to the increasing impact of flooding in Dar es Salaam

• Soil data for the city has previously been lacking, hindering the accuracy of flood modelling

In 2013, Tanzania adopted Option B+ for pregnant women in all reproductive and child health (RCH) clinics. This provided lifetime access to HIV treatment and facilitated administration of antiretroviral therapy (ART) outside of specialized HIV clinics. However, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare reported that adherence to ART and retention in treatment were problematic under the program.

Overview

This Weekly Bulletin focuses on selected acute public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 68 events in the region. This week’s edition covers key ongoing events, including:

East and Southern Africa Remain Dry, Strengthening Moisture Deficits

Africa Weather Hazards

1. Rainfall deficits since the beginning of the southern African monsoon have negatively affected many countries in the region, including southern Angola, northern Namibia, southern Zambia, and northern Zimbabwe.

2. Continued below-average rainfall and high temperatures have strengthened dryness in South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda,
   Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania.