- Malnutrition: Despite efforts to meet UN millennium development targets, little progress has been made towards reducing extreme hunger and malnutrition. Given the high population growth rate and inadequate investment in infrastructure, the agriculture sector has not been growing fast enough to keep up with demand resulting in widespread food insecurity. As many as 1 in 3 children below five years of age are underweight, and rates of stunting and undernourishment are distinctively higher in rural areas than urban.
- Disability: Approximately 9% of the population are disabled. Although the 1977 constitution formally recognises their rights and prohibits discrimination, extensive unemployment and below-average education rates persist. On paper the Tanzanian government has strategised for targeted improvements in quality of life and productive employment according to the 2004 National Disability Policy, however no national plan of action has yet been implemented and the country’s guarantee of free access to health services is yet to become a reality.
- Environmental degradation: Population pressure and climate change are an increasing threat to Tanzania’s natural resources. Unsustainable harvesting practices, unbridled cultivation and low regulation in agriculture and mining has led to a critical loss of habitat and biodiversity. Nonetheless, efforts have been made toward environmental conservation through the designation of ‘Protected Areas’ which now extend across 17 400km2 of native reserves.
Sources:
CIA WorldFact Book - https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tz.html
UNDP - http://www.id.undp.org/
WHO - http://www.afro.who.int/en/tanzania/country-health-profile.html
