This archive report was first published on 25 June 2021.
June 25, 2021
President Samia Suluhu Hassan's administration has marked a significant shift in Tanzania's approach to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the government acknowledging that it has been tracking the virus's spread all along.
Deputy Health Minister Godwin Mollel told Deutsche Welle that the country has been collecting coronavirus data, contradicting the previous administration's stance under late President John Magufuli, who took a denialist approach to the pandemic.
“Statistics have always been there. If there were no statistics or updates on what was going on, then everybody would have been very worried,” Mollel said.
The government's change in approach comes as Tanzania seeks a $571 million loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to tackle economic challenges caused by the pandemic. Data transparency and release is one of the conditions for the loan.
Finance and Planning Minister Mwigulu Nchemba confirmed that the country had applied for the loan, with IMF officials confirming the existence of communication with the government and the conditions required.
“When applying for pandemic-related emergency financing, evidence of the pandemic has to be available to substantiate the claim,” IMF’s resident representative Jens Reinke said.
Meanwhile, Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), Tanzania's largest referral hospital, has directed visitors to wear face masks as a precautionary measure against coronavirus, limiting the number of visitors per patient to two in the morning and two in the evening, and one in the afternoon.
