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Tanzania Overview

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Zimbabwe

Camfed has worked in Zimbabwe since 1992. In Zimbabwe, Camfed focusses on girls' education, health education and HIV/AIDS prevention, post-school opportunities including business training and micro-finance, and leadership training.

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Zambia

Camfed has worked in Zambia since 2001. In Zambia, Camfed focusses on girls' education, health education and HIV/AIDS prevention, post-school opportunities including business training and micro-finance, and leadership training.

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Tanzania

Camfed has worked in Tanzania since 2005. In Tanzania, Camfed focusses on girls' education, health education and HIV/AIDS prevention, post-school opportunities including business training and micro-finance, and leadership training.

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Ghana

Camfed has worked in Ghana since 1996. In Ghana, Camfed focusses on girls' education, health education and HIV/AIDS prevention, post-school opportunities including business training and micro-finance, and leadership training.


The United Republic of Tanzania is situated in East Africa and is home to 38.3 million people (UN, 2005). The current boundaries took shape in 1964 after a union between mainland Tanganyika and the island of Zanzibar, which had become independent in 1963. Mainland Tanzania lies in the area of the Great Lakes and covers 945,087 sq km (364,900 sq miles). Its largest city, Dar es Salaam, is located on the Indian Ocean coast while its capital, Dodoma, is located at its centre. The country boasts several geographical and ecological wonders including Mt Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa (5,895 meters/ 19,340 ft), in the north-eastern corner, Serengeti National Park in the north, and Selous Game Reserve and Mikumi National Park in the south.

Tanzania is considered to be one of the poorest countries in Africa: per capita income is estimated at US$340 (World Bank, 2006) and 58% of the population lives on less than US$1 a day (World Bank, 2004). Unlike its neighbours, it is not rich in natural resources. Nonetheless, its economy is dependent on agricultural exports and its primary exports are coffee, sisal, and cotton. Agriculture employs approximately 80% of the workforce. Recent economic reforms spearheaded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, coupled with foreign investment has catalysed a net improvement in Tanzania’s economy despite several severe droughts; in 2007, economic growth was forecast at close to 7% (World Bank, 2007).

Children outside their primary school in TanzaniaEconomic growth has seen some improvement in basic living conditions in Tanzania. Child mortality rates have declined significantly, and access to clean water has risen from 32 percent in 1990 to 62 percent in 2004 (World Bank, 2007). Nevertheless, progress on other fronts is still urgently needed. 1,400, 000 people suffer from HIV/AIDS: 110 000 are less than 14 years old (UNAIDS, 2007). Life expectancy at birth for men is 47 and for women 49 – among the lowest in the world (World Development Indicators, 2006). Many girls are forced out of poverty to leave school and become ‘house girls’.

Education is compulsory for all children up to the age of 14. There has been a marked increase in primary school enrolment: 58.8 %  in 2000 to 96 % in 2006. In the early years of the millennium, only 6% of boys and girls went on to secondary school (UNICEF, 2005). The Tanzanian government is investing heavily in education at all levels and recent indications are that enrolment has increased: in 2006, 450 new schools were built, and 65,000 more students were enrolled in secondary school than in 2005.

Read about Camfed’s response to the situation in Tanzania.

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