Key Achievements and Future Goals

The government, through the Ministry of Health, has made progress in reducing infectious diseases, including the rate of HIV infections among people aged 15 and older, which has decreased from 4.7% in 2016/17 to 4.4% in 2022/23. This is a positive trend towards eliminating these infections by 2030.

Health Minister Dr. Jenista Mhagama stated this at the Fifth (5th) annual ‘Abbott Rapid Diagnostics’ conference taking place in Dar es Salaam, aimed at discussing infectious diseases, with participants from various East and Southern African countries.

She noted that Tanzania has made strides in implementing the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) goals of 95-95-95, with the percentage of people aware of their HIV status among those estimated to be living with HIV increasing from 65% in 2016/17 to 83% in 2022/23.

“The proportion of those using antiretroviral therapy has risen from 94% in 2016/17 to 98% in 2022/23, and those achieving viral suppression have increased from 87% to 94% during this period,” said Minister Mhagama.

Additionally, regarding hepatitis, Tanzania has reduced the rate of Hepatitis B infections from 4.3% in 2016/2017 to 3.5% in 2022/2023, while the rate of Hepatitis C has dropped from 1.1% to 0.2% in the same timeframe.

On the topic of tuberculosis (TB) elimination, Minister Mhagama mentioned that the number of reported TB cases has risen from 62,180 in 2015 to 93,300 in 2023, contributing to a 40% decrease in the disease and a 68% reduction in deaths during this period.

“This shows that Tanzania is on the right track to meet the international strategy goals for TB elimination by 2030, thanks to increased access to diagnostic services and strengthening health systems for the public,” said Minister Mhagama.