Plan International has provided health insurance coverage for 30,000 sponsored children from marginalised communities in Tanzania.

The intervention, under the Children’s Health Fund, targeted children in Geita, Sumbawanga, Morogoro, Pwani and Mwanza regions.

The project, it is understood, aligns with goal three of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which seeks to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

‘Every child has the right to a healthy life. These children now have an opportunity to reach their full potential as adults and positively transform their communities’, Plan International said in a tweet.

Data from the International Trade Administration (ITA) shows that health insurance coverage is low in Tanzania, with only 32 percent of Tanzanians as of 2019 covered by health insurance.

ITA, in the 2021 report, also noted that Tanzania’s population had some of the lowest rates of access to health personnel in the world.

The World Bank, in a 2015 report, confirmed that a major challenge for Tanzania’s health sector was the shortage of skilled human resources for health.

Plan International is a child-centred organisation that advances children’s rights and promotes equality for girls in Tanzania.

The humanitarian organisation works with communities, the government and other development partners to support vulnerable children, adolescent girls and their families to access health care, education, clean water, sanitation and protection.

Photo source: Plan International Tanzania