Core area “Health, social protection and population dynamics” Protecting newborn babies, expanding health insurance

    Infant mortality rates in Tanzania are significantly higher than the global average – primarily because of inadequate medical care and a lack of skilled medical staff. The country does not have a nationwide health insurance system and many patients have to pay the costs for treatment themselves. Germany is supporting the expansion of health care and the development of a health insurance scheme, in particular with a view to helping mothers and newborn babies.

    A mother has her child medically examined

    A mother has her child medically examined

    By international comparison, maternal and newborn mortality rates are very high in Tanzania: some 30 in 1,000 newborn babies die as a result of complications during pregnancy, birth or shortly after. The reasons for this are poor medical infrastructure and a lack of specialised care and medical staff, especially in rural areas. Access to reproductive health is very poor for a lot of women, especially for poor and marginalised groups.

    At the same time, Tanzania lacks a nationwide, sustainable health insurance system that can ease the financial strain caused by illness. Most people have to pay the costs for treatment themselves, which hinders many people from accessing essential care. The creation of a national health insurance scheme is therefore an important step towards improving access to high-quality health care and reducing health-related inequalities.

    Goals for the sector

    The German Development Ministry (BMZ) is supporting Tanzania in its efforts to make its health system more resilient and just. The focus here is on reducing maternal and newborn mortality rates and improving access to medical care for poor and pregnant women. At the same time, Germany is supporting efforts to establish a universal health insurance scheme which will ensure basic health care provision for vulnerable households.

    Project examples

    • Germany is contributing to the introduction of a universal health insurance scheme which will give poor households access to basic health care. Germany is one of the first partners to share its experience in setting up insurance schemes and is thus contributing to achieving greater justice and stability in the health sector.

    • A modern mother-child clinic is being set up in Dar es Salaam which will contribute to reducing maternal and neonatal mortality and improving the quality of care during pregnancy and childbirth. The clinic will also serve as a reference centre for the region and provide targeted training for medical staff in obstetric and neonatal care – with a view to better managing high-risk pregnancies and providing more reliable care for newborn babies.

    • German development cooperation activities are strengthening the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and the Community Health Fund (CHF) in order to give poor pregnant women and newborns in four rural areas equal access to improved reproductive health care.

    • The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is promoting high-quality obstetric care and needs-based family planning advice, training health care staff and employing digital solutions to involve communities more in planning medical services.

    • With a view to strengthening regional health structures, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, an early warning system and a One Health expert pool are being promoted under cooperation arrangements with the African Union and the East African Community. The aim is to detect disease outbreaks at an early stage, better coordinate vaccination campaigns and enhance the resilience of health systems vis-à-vis epidemics in the region.

    • Germany and its partners are improving food and health systems in Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania, fostering gender-sensitive food policies and fighting malnutrition in children and mothers.

    • Germany’s activities are aimed at upgrading health systems to enable implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine campaign in several countries in the East African Community, supporting training programmes for vaccination teams and awareness-raising campaigns in rural areas in particular, and making important equipment and mobile vaccination centres available.

    As at: 17/11/2025