Older people in Tanzania are at risk of chronic health conditions which can lead to an early death if not managed carefully. As well as setting up healthy ageing clubs, we’re supporting older people to advocate for change and helping to build stronger and more inclusive health services.
East Africa is undergoing rapid growth in its population, particularly of older people, and with it the rate of non-communicable diseases - aka NCDs. The World Health Organization projects that these diseases will become the most common causes of death in Africa by 2020. Whilst life expectancy in Tanzania has improved, not enough people have access to the healthcare they need to live well in later life.
We’re running a project in the Korogwe district (Tanga region) and Magu district (Mwanza region) of Tanzania with our partner HelpAge International which aims to address this problem, by improving access to age-friendly preventive and diagnostic treatment, management and follow up services for older people.
Although Tanzania has a free healthcare policy for those aged over 60, in practice healthcare is still difficult for many older people to access. In many areas including Korogwe and Magu districts, much of the population live far from healthcare services and have to travel via poorly maintained dirt roads (often via motorcycle) to access them.
This can be particularly problematic for older people with mobility issues and those with chronic conditions, who need to attend healthcare services regularly for support with their condition or disability but may not even be able to get a diagnosis. For these older people, good home-based care is essential. But there is a limited number of healthcare staff, and many lack the necessary skills for the management, treatment and referral of chronic conditions and NCDs.
With our partners AFRIWAG, MAPERCE and HelpAge International we’re providing training to frontline health care providers to increase their knowledge and skills, providing older people with health checks and outreach for disease screening and treatment, and carrying out an awareness-raising campaign on NCDs.
We’re also raising awareness in the community through our Active Ageing Clubs for older people.
With our partners, we've established eighty of these groups, with older people trained to provide advice on health and nutrition relating to ageing and NCDs and lead exercise classes - helping to delay the onset of NCDs and improve the quality of life for those already living with chronic conditions. For many older people, taking part in the exercises has improved their mobility and ability to carry out daily tasks.
"In July 2020, I joined the Active Ageing club after being invited by our leader. I am now highly appreciative of the physiotherapist who coordinates our exercise two times a week. He also gives us health education at the end of the exercises. This club has changed my life and now I can go to fetch water and perform farm activities as I used to do before. I thank all who made this possible.”
Our Older Citizen’s Monitoring (OCM) groups empower older people to monitor access to healthcare services and medication and to lobby for improvements. In Korogwe and Magu, the OCM groups have been given training on collecting, analysing, and reporting data on health issues affecting older people and barriers to good health care.
The groups meet with local service providers (including government officials and health management teams) twice a year to feed back their concerns and recommendations, and collaborate with healthcare workers on how services can be made more “age-friendly”.
During the programme, we are working with district healthcare teams, councillors, and government officials and seeking to influence the health agenda for long-lasting change on both a local and national level.
See more pictures from our programme in Tanzania in this photoblog.
