From Mothers Day to the World Menstrual Hygiene Day May 28.

After Mothers Day, our attention is glued to yet another important world event vital for motherhood. Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28, represents a key growth stage and factor in reproductive health. Many challenges afflict motherhood in our Tanzanian communities-and many challenges also afflict pre and post mernache adolescents, especially in primary and secondary schools.

In Lindi for example, girls reported they stay away from school for an average of 2-3 days per month until their menses subside. On average, this adds to 20-30 study days lost per year due to lack of a supportive environment for menstrual health management in most primary schools. Girls’ ability to succeed academically and in their lifelong expectations is negatively impacted, while their overall basic human rights including education, health and freedom of association are compromised.

World Menstrual Hygiene Day calls our attention to discuss and find feasible solutions to the many challenges facing adolescents and women as a whole about menstrual management. These challenges abound in different situations-schools, workplaces, places of worship, homes, prisons, emergency situations including refugee camps, social instabilities and many others.

Menstrual hygiene management remains a secretive issue in many cultures, and a neglected issue in many policies and operational guidelines for essential services and sectors. As a result, the toll on adolescents and women as whole is enormous. Many women and girls continue to suffer discrimination and stigma, low self esteem and dignity, shame, fear and confusion.

COBIHESA has been working with different local and external partners on reproductive health.( Forum SyD, UJCE Nyarugusu, and Hesperian Health Guides). Hesperian Health Guides with partners have developed a digital platform -the  HealthWiki , that provides important lifesaving resources on community health including reproductive health. They include Women's Menstrual Cycles; Family Planning, and Pregnancy and Birth ( in The new Where There is No Doctor). Others are Understanding Our Bodies; Health Concerns for Girls; Abortion and Complications of Abortion; and STIs ( in Where Women Have No Doctor). These resources are freely available in Kiswahili at:

http://hesperian.org/books-and-resources/resources-in-swahili/

Lishe Bora Kwa Afya Bora

Usikose kujifunza zaidi juu ya umuhimu wa lishe kutoka Mwongozo Maarufu juu ya Afya ya Msingi –Mahali Pasipo na Daktari. Sura ya 31: Lishe bora hutengeneza afya bora inapatikana katika tovuti ya nyenzo za afya ya msingi kupitia: http://sw.hesperian.org/hhg/New_Where_There_Is_No_Doctor:Sura_ya_31:_Lishe_bora_hutengeneza_afya_bora

Ndani ya sura hiyo utajifunza na kuweza kuwasaidia wanakaya na wanajamii juu ya masuala mengi ya kilishe yakiwemo:

• Kula chakula cha kutosha
• Kula vyakula mchanganyiko
• Jinsi ya kula vizuri unapokuwa na uwezo mdogo
• Vyakula vipya, matatizo mapya
• Jitahidi kula vya kutosha unapokuwa mgonjwa
• Utapiamlo
• Kuzuia njaa
• Madawa

Sura hii ni sehemu ya mfululizo wa sura za mwanzo kutoka toleo jipya la Mahali Pasipo na Daktari ambacho kimechapishwa na Hesperian Health Guides na kutafsiriwa na COBIHESA.

Toleo Jipya-Mahali Pasipo na Daktari

COBIHESA kwa kushirikiana na Hesperian Health Guides tunafurahi kukuletea mtandaoni sura za awali za Mwongozo maarufu juu ya afya ya jamii-Mahali Pasipo na Daktari ,Toleo jipya.

Unaweza kusoma au kupakua faili za sura zifuatazo kutoka mtandaoni kwa ajili ya manufaa yako au na ya jamii kwa ujumla:

Sura 26: Ujauzito na Kujifungua

Sura 27: Watoto wachanga na Unyonyeshaji

Sura 28: Kuwahudumia Watoto

Mahali Pasipo na Daktari hutumiwa sana na wafanyakazi wa afya, waelimishaji jamii, na wengine wanaojishughulisha na afya ya msingi. Pia ni nyenzo muhimu kwa afya ya kaya.

Tembelea: Hesperian.org/books-and-resources/resources-in-swahili/

Shindano la machapisho ya elimu ya afya kwa jamii-Mwisho Agosti 30

Kama umewahi kutengeneza au kuchapisha kipeperushi, brocha, posta au kijitabu katika Kiswahili chenye taarifa za elimu ya afya kwa jamii, unaweza kushinda zawadi!

Tuma machapisho yako katika Kiswahili ifikapo Agosti 30 na utaingizwa kwenye shindano na kuwania:

• seti nzima ya miongozo ya kiafya ya Hesperian katika Kiingereza (ukiwemo Mahali Pasipo na Daktari)-zawadi ya mshindi wa kwanza;

• kitita cha kiafya chenye nyenzo za kinga-zawadi ya mshindi wa pili; au
• kuingizwa kwenye blogu itakayotangaza na kuinua zaidi kazi yako ya elimu ya afya kwa jamii kwenye tovuti ya Hesperian Health Guides-zawadi ya mshindi wa tatu.

 Machapisho yote ambayo yatafuzu yatatangazwa na kufikishwa kwa watu wengi zaidi kupitia hebu ya Kiswahili katika Tovuti ya Shirika la Hesperian Health Guides (www.hesperian.org)

 Machapisho yatakayoshinda yatakidhi kwa hali ya juu vigezo vyote vitatu vifuatavyo:

1.Ujumbe: je chapisho limebeba ujumbe muhimu kuhusu afya , limetumia taarifa sahihi na zinazoenda na wakati ?      

2. Matumizi na ufikikaji: je chapisho linatumika miongoni mwa jamii zenye kuongea Kiswahili ? Ni muhimu, linaeleweka, taarifa zake ni wazi, na rafiki kwa mtumiaji-mfanyakazi wa afya wa ngazi ya jamii au mtumiaji mwingine katika ngazi ya jamii?

3.Upatikanaji wake bila masharti-je ni kazi halali ambayo haijaghushiwa, na ambayo ipo wazi kwa ajili ya matumizi,marekebisho (ili kukidhi mahitaji), kuchapishwa tena na kusambazwa kwa jamii bila kikwazo chochote AU kwa idhini na kukiri chanzo tu ?.

Tuma chapisho lako kwa  barua pepe kwa anuani hii: share@hesperian.org

Tumia kichwa cha barua : Shindano la Machapisho ya Kiafya katika Kiswahili.

Shindano la vipeperushi, posta, na vijitabu juu ya elimu ya afya kwa jamii

Je umewahi kutengeneza au kuchapisha kipeperushi, brocha, posta au kijitabu katika Kiswahili chenye taarifa za elimu ya afya kwa jamii? Tafadhali shirikiana nasi nyenzo hizo!

 Tuma machapisho yako katika Kiswahili ifikapo Agosti 30 na utaigizwa kwenye shindano na kuwania:

• seti nzima ya miongozo ya kiafya ya Hesperian katika Kiingereza( ukiwemo Mahali Pasipo na Daktari)-zawadi ya mshindi wa kwanza;
• kitita cha kiafya chenye nyenzo za kinga-zawadi ya mshindi wa pili; au
• kuandaliwa sehemu ya blogu inayotanganza na kuinua zaidi kazi zako za elimu ya afya kwa jamii kwenye tovuti ya Hesperian Health Guides-zawadi ya mshindi wa tatu.

 Machapisho yatakayotumwa yataamuliwa na COBIHESA pamoja na Hesperian Health Guides.

Machapisho yote ambayo yatafuzu yatatangazwa na kufikishwa kwa watu wengi zaidi kupitia hebu ya Kiswahili katika Tovuti ya Shirika la Hesperian Health Guides (www.hesperian.org)

 Machapisho yatapimwa kwa kuzingatia vigezo vifuatavyo( yatakayoshinda yatakidhi kwa hali ya juu vigezo vyote vitatu)

1.Ujumbe: je chapisho limebeba ujumbe muhimu kuhusu afya , limetumia taarifa sahihi na zinazoenda na wakati ?      

2. Matumizi na ufikikaji: je chapisho linatumika miongoni mwa jamii zenye kuongea Kiswahili ? Ni muhimu, linaeleweka, taarifa zake ni wazi, na rafiki kwa mtumiaji-mfanyakazi wa afya wa ngazi ya jamii au mtumiaji mwingine katika ngazi ya jamii?

3.Upatikanaji wake bila masharti-je ni kazi halali ambayo haijagusiwa, na ambayo ipo wazi kwa ajili ya matumizi,marekebisho ili kukidhi mahitaji, kuchapishwa tena na kusambazwa na jamii AU kwa idhini na kukiri chanzo ?.

Tuma chapisho lako kwa njia ya barua pepe kwa anuani hii: share@hesperian.org
Tumia kichwa cha barua : Shindano la Machapisho ya Kiafya katika Kiswahili.

More organisations benefit from the Community Guide to Environmental Health

Jamii Empowerment Initiative has received  5 modules of the  Kiswahili version of the Guide to Environmental health. According to Mr John Wambura, the coordinator of Jamii Empowerment Initiative, the modules will be used in community mobilisation and trainings in Mikese ward and Musoma region.

Jamii Empowerment Initiative is affiliated to  the Mennonite church in Tanzania. The  5 modules which constitute a versatile training tool on environmental health  is already beingModuli_1_cover.pdf used in community work on environmental health in Lindi, Coast , Mwanza and Kagera region.

The tool has been adapted for Kiswahili speakers from the Community Guide to Environmental Health published by  the Hesperian Foundation.

Killer_cookstoves.docx

MINISTER LAUNCHES A 1.4 BILLION SHILLINGS TOILETLESS  PUBLIC FACILITY !

The     Mbezi Mwisho Commuter Bus stand , a 1.4 billion shillings public facility, was launched on Monday 5, March,   2012 by the Hon. Minister of Works Dr John Magufuli, surprisingly without public toilets, strengthening the contention by environmental health activists in the country that sanitation is a low priority for many people , including   government planners and policy implementers.

Two days after the launching , the stand was observed busy with hundreds of passengers boarding and leaving vehicles, or just waiting at the station for transport to their destinations. Meanwhile, workers were frantically    putting up walls of the expected public toilets. Minister Magufuli  had reportedly ordered, during the launching, that the public toilets should be ready within 7 days.

Without appropriate sanitation facilities ,  some people interviewed said passengers   badly in need of toilet facilities would be forced to ease themselves in the storm water drainage channels , behind buses, bushes and buildings, in bottles or polythene bags. With the ensuing rains and poor hygiene especially involving the food vendors and their clients around the station, 7 days of open defecation could trigger a cholera epidemic.

It is surprising that TANROADS, the project implementers or any other agency-government or non government, could ignore  such a key public health and social need. Safe sanitation, like safe water, is a conditional basic   health need and a right for all people.  Sanitation has been highlighted in major national government planning frameworks. Under the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty II or MKUKUTA II, one of the operational targets   is to increase access to improved toilets and functional hand washing facilities at several levels , including public facilities and transport facilities, from 35% in urban areas in 2010 to 45% by 2015.Increased access to improved sanitation facilities in rural and urban areas has also been outlined as a strategic intervention in the Tanzania Five Year Development Plan( 2011/12-2015/16).

With about 50% of the people in Tanzania lacking access to safe sanitation facilities, our aspiration as a country to achieve   most of the World Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)   could be undermined as   the adverse sanitation impacts including diseases, poverty and poor environmental health   are crosscutting.

Launching such an important facility without public toilets brings into perspective the apparent  lack of action over the proliferation of the open defecation spots(ODSs), the so called sehemu za kuchimba dawa , along the major highways and trunk roads.   It also questions the commitment of the Ministry of Health in its oversight role for public health. While it would be difficult for a private project catering for thousands of clients daily to commence without sanitation facilities, a government project of such a magnitude has gone ahead without any hindrance from the public health regulators.

The launching of a toiletless facility does not augur well for Tanzania, a country that commemorates the World Toilet Day every year on  19 November. The objective of the World Toilet Day includes raising awareness on the importance and right of every person and household to a safe toilet. Poor sanitation has been blamed for the repetitive cholera epidemics which affect Dar es salaam city inhabitants almost every year, mostly during the long rain season or in times of severe water crisis.

COBIHESA appeals to the Ministries responsible for health, water, regional administration and local government, local government authorities, non state actors working on sanitation, and key government agencies to   pursue with commitment the targets enshrined in these government master plans in fulfillment of the right of all Tanzanians to safe sanitation. Disturbing anecdotal evidence shows that in most  programmes ,   sanitation receives low priority, as in the case of Mbezi Mwisho bus station where it came last!

Witchcraft increases climate change casualties in Rukwa !

Being familiar with frequent reports in Tanzania and from other parts of the world about casualties resulting from traditional climatic adversities , particularly floods and droughts, news of the greasily   killing of two elderly people in Mpanda , Rukwa region, allegedly for preventing rain using witchcraft should   come as a rude shock to environmentalists, scientists, human rights activists and all people of good faith.

WAPO radio FM’s morning programme –Patapata, on 24 February 2012, quoting the Rukwa regional police commander, reported that 5 people had been arrested in connection with the killing of two elderly women accused by a section of the community in Mpanda   for preventing rain allegedly using witchcraft.

As Tanzania and other sub Saharan countries  strive to put in place different strategies to address climate change impacts, the Mpanda killings highlight the challenges that government , development partners and other actors face in engaging local communities on climate change mitigation and adaptation, and on development issues in general.

Incensed by the Sumbawanga killings report, COBIHESA members:

1. strongly condemn these killings as an  outright violation of human rights and call for all those involved to be prosecuted immediately.

2. Call on the NEMC, the Vice Presidents’ office ( the overall coordinating authority on environment activities) and other actors to accelerate public education on climate change to increase awareness and understanding of basic climate change processes and risks, and how to reduce them . Lack of correct information could undermine effective community responses in the on- going national strategies.

3. Call on government and other partners to support special interest groups such as farmers, livestock keepers,  fishers and competent NGOs working at community level to design and implement local initiatives for mitigation and adaptation that suit the local contexts.

The alarming climate change adversity in Rukwa region is also represented by the receding Lake Rukwa surface area. The Lake has reportedly receded by 7 kilometres over the past 50 years. This has been directly attributed to several factors including  increased evaporation due to high temperatures, increased degradation of the lake’s ecosystem due to growing livestock herds and over grazing, inadequate rains and prolonged droughts. These are plausible   scientific explanations associated with unsustainable environmental human activities and overall global warming –not witchcraft !.

Witchcraft, a backward and a risk laden belief system, has been associated with some of the most systemic inhuman practices in Tanzania including the killing of albinos   and old women in the Lake Victoria region. Although the government does not recognize witchcraft in its laws and policies, witchcraft beliefs are  considered to be widespread in Tanzania and constitute a significant social development challenge. Anecdotal evidence shows that most victims of witchcraft are people perceived to be of lower status in local communities: women rather than men; old women or men (especially widows or widowers, or childless families); the lonely; the poor; children; people with disabilities eg. albinos ; those with little or no education at all etc. Thus, witchcraft, like climate change impacts are likely to compound the problems of   the poor and most vulnerable people in Tanzanian society.    

Challenges towards cleaner cities and towns in Tanzania highlighted

A forum discussion involving 42 stakeholder representatives from central and local government departments, NGOs, the university of Dar es salaam, corporate entities and the media has raised concern over the increasing dirtiness of our cities and towns and highlighted some of the immediate problems that need to be addressed to improve the situation.

The forum discussion hosted by the Tanzania Country Level Knowledge Network, CLK Net, at the Tanzania Global Learning Centre, IFM Dar es salaam, on 17 January 2012, started with a lead presentation from Ms. Hildegarda L. Kiwasila, a Senior Lecturer and Researcher from the University of Dar es Salaam, Institute of Resource Assessment . She analytically reviewed the different programmes and projects regarding solid and liquid waste management that Dar es salaam city has gone through, observing that the overall outcome had been largely unsatisfactory and unsustainable, as exemplified by the pattern of filth and   health risk sites in Dar es salaam city which she illustrated using photographs.

Some of the key challenges raised at the forum include:

• Lack of strategic, innovative interventions and instead maintenance of failed casual ‘business as usual’ solutions’;
•  Inadequate mobilisation and coordination of key actors including the National Environment Management Council (NEMC), CSOs, water and sanitation utilities, major waste generators, the private sector etc.; 
• Poor enforcement of laws and regulations;
•  Lack of waste management strategic plans commensurate with the rapid urban population growth; 
• Lack of institutional collaboration as well as mechanism for resource sharing;
•  Corruption particularly in law enforcement and procurement of service providers eg. waste collection companies; 
• Inadequate involvement of private sector in public service delivery; 
• Top – down approach to project implementation; 
• Inadequate autonomy of LGAs and other local actors ; 
• Inadequate budget lines for waste management in LGAs; 
• Political interference in the technical and legal responsibilities of the LGAs; and 
• Inadequate involvement of grassroots leaders and communities.

 The current problems are expected to be aggravated by adverse climate change impacts on infrastructure and rising sea water levels, continued rapid urban population growth and the growing incidence of urban poverty. It was also noted that behaviours and practices including littering, non compliance with laws and regulations, and unwillingness to pay waste collection fees will continue to compound environmental cleanness challenges in towns and cities.

 Public education, a key requirement in the continuum for adoption of safer waste management behaviours and practices, was recommended as a basic strategy along with some of the following strategies:

•  Improvement of urban development planning commensurate with the increasing urban population;
•  Improvement of budgetary allocation for service provision in the towns and cities, and effective management of resources,
•  Enhancement of the role of the mass media in raising public awareness.

 Solid waste management and sanitation promotion are key areas in COBIHESA’s activities. Thus, COBIHESA welcomes the forum and intends to participate fully in the forum activities. The organisation works with 6 community environment groups in Kilwa district on solid waste management in the coastal zone, and10 mtaa local area governments in Lindi municipality. Through ReCoMaP/ Indian Ocean Commission support, COBIHESA participated in the development of a solid waste management strategy for Kilwa Masoko and Kilwa Kivinje towns in 2011.

At the forum, the organisation was represented by Mr David Katusabe, Programme Officer. To view the forum report on clean cities and towns in Tanzania, visit www.clknet.or.tz