Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania over the weekend.
African Court dismisses case against Tanzania
The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights has dismissed a case filed against the United Republic of Tanzania by John Martin Marwa who is a Tanzanian, the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult), reported. The African Court, however, ordered that each party should bear its own costs.
According to the ruling, Mr Marwa (the Applicant) who is a national of Tanzania (the Respondent State) is a schoolteacher and at the time of filing the Application, was serving 30 years’ imprisonment having been convicted of the offence of rape of an 18-year-old student.
The Applicant alleged that the Respondent State violated his right not to be discriminated against protected under Article 2 of the Charter; his right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law protected under Article 3(1) and (2) respectively of the Charter; and his right to have his cause heard protected under Article 7(1) of the Charter.
The African Court, however, ruled that on the admissibility of the Application, in particular, when considering whether the Application was filed within a reasonable time, it considered that although the Applicant was, at the material time, incarcerated, he had not provided the Court with compelling arguments and sufficient evidence to demonstrate that his personal situation prevented him from filing the Application in a more timely manner.
The African Court found that the filing of the Application within six years and 12 days after exhaustion of local remedies was not a reasonable time within the meaning of Article 56(6) of the Charter and as restated in Rule 50(2)(f) of the Rules.
“Having found that the Application had not satisfied the requirement in Rule 50(2)(f) of the Rules, the Court declared the Application inadmissible as the conditions of admissibility of an Application filed before it is cumulative, such that if one condition is not fulfilled then the Application becomes inadmissible,” the African Court stated.
WHO helps to save lives of mothers, children in Kigoma
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is partnering with the Kigoma regional health management and other partners to improve access to equitable and affordable quality Emergency Obstetric and Essential Newborn Care services in the region.
Maternal death is a significant problem in Tanzania. According to the Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey 2016, 556 women die from childbirth, a slight decrease over ten years from 578 in 2005. With the current annual reduction rate, Tanzania may not meet the global goal of reducing maternal deaths to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030, the WHO said in a statement over the weekend.
With high teenage pregnancy (32 per cent), high birth rate (6.7 per cent), unmet need for family planning (28 per cent) and lower than national average antenatal clinic attendance of 16 per cent below 40 per cent national average, Kigoma is one of the regions in Tanzania with highest maternal deaths. In 2019, Kigoma reported 100 maternal deaths,119 in 2020, and 75 deaths reported in 2021.
A recent assessment conducted by the regional health management team also found high maternal death rates. According to the report, the major causes of high maternal death included: obstetric haemorrhage which accounts for 56 per cent of all maternal deaths in the Kigoma region, whereas hypertensive disorders contribute (nine per cent), sepsis (eight per cent), anaemia in pregnancy ( six per cent) obstructed labour ( four per cent). Other causes claimed 17 per cent of maternal deaths in 2021.
“We developed a three years 2020-2023 contingency plan to avert the high number of maternal and perinatal deaths because our region has the highest number of maternal deaths nationally,” the statement quoted Dr Benadeta Peter, Kigoma Regional Reproductive Child Health Officer, as saying.
The plan addresses the identified critical issues related to the quality of health care, the competence of health care providers, and access to health services.
With support from the Norwegian Embassy in Tanzania, WHO is supporting the Kigoma region to build technical capacities in managing obstetric and newborn complications.
“These efforts coupled with other partners’ contributions, will subsequently avert the trend of maternal and newborn deaths,” said Dr Jairos Hiliza, WHO Field Officer in Kigoma in a statement.
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