Health in Tanzania

The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Tanzania was 790. This is compared with 449 in 2008 and 610.2 in 1990. The UN Child Mortality Report 2011 reports a decrease in under-five mortality from 155 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 76 per 1,000 live births in 2010, and in neonatal mortality from 40 per 1,000 live births to 26 per 1,000 live births.^[1] The aim of the report The State of the World's Midwifery is to highlight ways in which the Millennium Development Goals can be achieved, particularly Goal 4 – Reduce child

mortality and Goal 5 – improve maternal health. In Tanzania there are only two midwives per 1,000 live births; and the lifetime risk of death during delivery for women is one in 23.^[2]

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative^[3] finds that Tanzania is fulfilling 76.7% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to health based on its level of income.^[4] When looking at the right to health with respect to children, Tanzania achieves 92.5% of what is expected based on its current income.^[5] In regards to the right to health amongst the adult population, the country achieves only 85.8% of what is expected based on the nation's level of income. ^[6] Tanzania falls into the "very bad" category when evaluating the right to reproductive health because the nation is fulfilling only 51.7% of what the nation is expected to achieve based on the resources (income) it has available.^[7]