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Dar es Salaam. Former President Jakaya Kikwete has challenged scientists to strengthen health research and ensure proven interventions reach communities, saying the fight against malaria must ultimately prevent unnecessary suffering and protect productivity and development.

Speaking at the 70th anniversary celebrations of the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) and its fifth Scientific Conference, Mr Kikwete said research into insecticide-treated mosquito nets and malaria vaccines, had generated evidence that informs malaria control efforts worldwide.

‘Our ultimate ambition must be a future where no child, no mother, no family suffers unnecessarily from a disease that stunts productivity and prevents development,’ he said.

He called for stronger collaboration among the government, research institutions, health workers, manufacturers and development partners to ensure proven interventions reach the people who need them most.

Mr Kikwete also reflected on his contribution to malaria control efforts during and after his presidency.

IHI Chief Executive Director Dr Aly Olotu pledged to strengthen the institute’s research capacity by supporting emerging scientists, sustaining research platforms and deepening engagement with communities and policymakers.

He said the milestone offered an opportunity to reflect on the institute’s history, recognise its achievements and agree on a shared vision for the future.

‘The next generation of scientists will inherit the institution that we build today, and that is how we honour our roots and extend our reach. It emphasises the importance of building an institution that can sustain its scientific contribution for generations to come,’ Dr Olotu said.

Switzerland’s Ambassador to Tanzania, Nicole Providoli, said the seven-decade partnership between Switzerland and Tanzania in health research had strengthened scientific collaboration and helped address public health challenges, with IHI among its notable achievements.

She said the partnership was built on a shared commitment to research that responds to local health needs while contributing to global solutions.

The collaboration brings together Swiss and Tanzanian institutions, including the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, the Ministry of Health, the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) and the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (Costech).

‘The partnership remains particularly important as malaria, emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, climate change and population growth place increasing demands on health systems,’ Ms Providoli said.

She commended IHI for producing rigorous research that responds to community needs and contributes to solutions of global significance, while underscoring the need for sustained investment in local research capacity.

The fifth Ifakara Annual Scientific Conference runs until November 12, bringing together scientists, policymakers and health leaders from across the world to discuss pressing health challenges, including malaria prevention, control and treatment.

Arusha. The government has launched new national treatment guidelines and an essential medicines list to standardise healthcare quality and ensure patients receive consistent care, regardless of the facility they visit.

Health Minister Mohamed Mchengerwa launched the seventh edition of the Standard Treatment Guidelines and National Essential Medicines List (STG/NEML) 2026 in Arusha on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.

The launch coincided with the handover of the guidelines to healthcare facilities, the Medical Stores Department (MSD) and the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), during celebrations marking the centenary of Mount Meru Regional Referral Hospital.

Mr Mchengerwa said the guidelines were designed to harmonise treatment practices, medicine procurement and distribution, and reimbursement of healthcare services nationwide.

They incorporated scientific evidence, contributions from healthcare professionals and stakeholders, patient safety considerations, and the costs of recommended medicines and services.

The aim, he said, was to ensure patients receive appropriate treatment wherever they seek care, while giving healthcare professionals a reference for informed clinical decisions.

“This seventh edition reflects the country’s commitment to evaluating its healthcare system through science and making the necessary corrections,” he said.

Effective implementation would guide MSD on medicines to procure and distribute, ensure safe treatment and enable health insurance schemes to reimburse services recognised under the guidelines.

“With Universal Health Insurance, this is an important foundation. Insurance without treatment guidelines is a promise without a measurable standard,” he said.

He directed healthcare facilities to use the guidelines when prescribing medicines and treating patients.

MSD should use the National Essential Medicines List to forecast demand and guide procurement and distribution, ensuring listed products remained available.

Medicine availability nationwide stood at 95 percent, he said, urging MSD to improve the figure and address complaints about shortages.

“Medicines included on the list should never be out of stock at health facilities. Availability currently stands at 95 percent, and I do not expect to continue hearing complaints about medicine shortages following the launch of these guidelines,” he said.

The minister said NHIF should align reimbursements with treatments specified in the guidelines so that services provided to patients were paid for according to established standards.

On Mount Meru Regional Referral Hospital, Mr Mchengerwa said the government regarded it as a strategic gateway for medical tourism, attracting patients from neighbouring countries for specialised and super-specialised care.

He urged the institution to strengthen research and publish findings to expand local medical knowledge.

‘Revenue from medical tourism would help the hospital acquire modern equipment and technology, benefiting Tanzanians as well,’ he said.

Mr Mchengerwa urged district commissioners to mobilise communities to exercise regularly to help reduce non-communicable diseases and the cost of treating them.

More than 57 percent of treatment expenditure by insured Tanzanians went towards managing such diseases, he said, placing an additional burden on the healthcare system.

Mount Meru Regional Referral Hospital Medical Officer-in-Charge, Dr Alex Ernest, said the institution began as a facility for treating casualties during the World Wars before becoming a regional hospital and later a referral hospital.

The government had invested significantly since its elevation to referral status, including more than Sh5 billion allocated to improve infrastructure and buy modern medical equipment, he said.

‘A major achievement is the introduction of cancer diagnosis and treatment services, including chemotherapy, reducing the need for patients from the Northern Zone to travel to national hospitals. A pathology unit has strengthened diagnosis through laboratory examination of patient samples, while chemotherapy enabled patients to begin treatment within the region,’ he said.

Other improvements included enhanced emergency services, modern diagnostic facilities, endoscopy services and an oxygen generation plant costing more than Sh1.752 billion.

Arusha Member of Parliament Paul Makonda congratulated the hospital on its centenary and announced plans to recruit 154 community health workers to promote uptake of Universal Health Insurance.

The workers would be deployed across streets in Arusha City to link patients with major hospitals and encourage residents to enrol in and use the scheme, he said.

“To begin with, the MP’s office will recruit more than 154 community health workers who will be deployed across every street,’ said Mr Makonda, who also serves as Minister of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports.

“Their responsibility will be to link patients with major hospitals and, more importantly, encourage residents to enrol in and use Universal Health Insurance, making Arusha a leading example,” he added.

Malaria control and elimination efforts across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are at a critical point. Over the past two years, case numbers have increased in the region. Several countries have reported reversals in hard-earned gains.

People living in malaria-prone areas are at a higher risk than before. Four countries in the region, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Angola and Tanzania, have some of the world’s greatest malaria burdens.

This is calculated by the number of new malaria cases per 1,000 people at risk annually. Combined, these countries account for 22.9 percent of the global malaria burden.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) target to eliminate malaria by 2030 are now harder to reach.

Getting the SADC region back on track is going to take a huge effort, with people working together. Multiple threats are occurring at the same time here and all demand prompt, effective responses.

National malaria programmes are overstretched and under-resourced. An unpredictable, rapidly evolving global health funding landscape is making this worse. African malaria programmes have largely depended on donor funding. South Africa is one of the few exceptions: the country funds almost all of its programme.

I head the Laboratory for Antimalarial Resistance Monitoring and Malaria Operational Research at the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases. We monitor antimalarial drug resistance in malaria endemic districts in South Africa and neighbouring countries.

Based on what we are seeing, I believe that African governments should be investing more in their own countries’ malaria control and elimination efforts.

Extreme weather events have also become more frequent in the region. This has increased the risk of infectious diseases spreading. Countries need to prepare and make plans to respond to the impact of extreme weather events.

Adding to the problem is the persistence of drug and insecticide resistance. Malaria treatments are not working as well as before because the parasite has adapted. The region needs genomics hubs that can help monitor how parasites respond to prevention interventions and treatment.

Funding cuts

The sudden end of US government funding to support essential malaria control activities in 2025 has made it more difficult for the Global Fund to meet its replenishment target of US$18 billion for Grant Cycle 8. Every three years countries around the word are called upon to contribute to The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Country allocations for the grant cycle running from 2026-2028 are on average 18 percent lower than previous allocations. As a result, countries that receive grants must make difficult choices about who to protect, how, and where. It’s no longer possible to do everything everywhere.

This is on top of already having to scale back activities such as distributing insecticide treated bednets, carrying out malaria indicator surveys and using drugs to prevent malaria infections.

Interventions with a proven record of protecting the most vulnerable and at-risk populations are put first, ahead of less cost-effective interventions. This creates a gap in the protection of less vulnerable populations. And funding activities that focus on elimination is no longer a priority.

As a result, case numbers have increased in several countries, including Mozambique, Nigeria and Uganda.

These sudden, unexpected shifts in donor priorities highlight the vulnerabilities of country programmes. They are over-reliant on donor funding for core activities.

The La Niña weather system in early 2026 caused severe flooding in several SADC countries. It damaged essential infrastructure, displacing local communities.

The floods have driven up malaria numbers in several countries, including Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa. Mozambique saw a 55 percent increase in cases in the first six weeks of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. Zimbabwe reported 65,399 cases during the first quarter of 2026, almost twice as many as reported in quarter one of 2025.

Displaced populations, like the region’s mobile and migrant populations, frequently cross borders to get essential services in neighbouring countries or regions. This increases the strain on over-burdened healthcare facilities, and the risk of drug stockouts.

In 2025 the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimated there were around 11.4 million forcibly displaced individuals in the SADC region. That is a 35 percent increase from 2023.

All SADC countries need effective early warning systems and plans to respond to extreme weather events, unexpected influxes of displaced people and increases in infectious diseases.

These must be supported by prompt data sharing and strong regional coordination and cooperation. While the ‘super’ El Nino weather system is expected to bring hot, dry conditions to southern Africa, heavy rain and flooding are predicted for east and central Africa.

This could potentially mean increased movement of displaced populations and diseases into the SADC region. Fully funded regional preparedness and response plans, supported by well-functioning regional coordination mechanisms, are essential in this context.

Persisting challenges

Scientists have confirmed that in some areas the recommended malaria treatments are not as effective as before. Genetic changes in the malaria parasite are the reason. But not all SADC countries have the capacity to find and analyse this kind of genetic evidence.

Jaishree Raman is Principal Medical Scientist and Head of Laboratory for Antimalarial Resistance Monitoring and Malaria Operational Research, National Institute for Communicable Diseases

Establishing regional hubs for genomic surveillance would enable prompt detection of emerging resistance signals. Without this proactive surveillance, there is an elevated risk of drug-resistant outbreaks and increases in malaria-related deaths.

Despite numerous training initiatives such as the E8 entomological fellowship, skilled entomologists (scientists who study insects) remain scarce within national malaria programmes.

This limits the options for monitoring mosquito populations and determining whether they are becoming resistant to insecticides. It’s then harder to select the most appropriate vector control measures based on available evidence.

In the current environment of limited resources, establishing new training programmes will be challenging.

Getting back on track

If the SADC region is committed to eliminating malaria by 2030, domestic funding must fill intervention gaps and support critical elimination activities. If nothing is done, cases will probably increase in some areas and populations.

Countries should consider using existing mosquito specialists within the region for peer-to-peer learning and capacity building. The genomic hubs established for drug resistance monitoring should also support surveillance of insecticide resistance in the region.

The high degree of interconnectedness across the region, combined with shrinking health budgets, strongly suggests malaria elimination will not be achieved without sustained regional collaboration and coordination.

Dodoma. Young people have been challenged to stop complaining about national challenges and take responsibility for developing solutions, upholding integrity and preparing for leadership.

Clerk of the National Assembly Baraka Leonard said Tanzania needed young people able to think critically, debate constructively and contribute to strong democratic institutions.

He made the call on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, while opening the Eighth Meeting of the Second Youth Parliament in Dodoma.

He said the platform was intended not only to teach parliamentary procedures but also to prepare leaders to serve with patriotism and accountability.

‘Leadership is a responsibility, not an opportunity for personal gain. A good leader understands that the position entrusted to them is meant to serve the community and protect the public interest,’ he said.

Mr Leonard outlined four principles for participants: discipline and respect for parliamentary procedures; evidence-based arguments; accountability in representing young people; and integrity, patriotism and commitment to national service.

He urged the young legislators to follow parliamentary rules and resolve disagreements through constructive debate rather than hostility.

He challenged participants to address issues affecting young people, including education, employment, entrepreneurship, technology, healthcare and participation in decision-making.

They should examine the causes of problems and propose practical solutions, he said.

‘Do not limit yourselves to explaining challenges. Examine their causes and propose measures that can address them,’ he said.

Mr Leonard urged those who did not secure leadership positions to remain active by presenting arguments and alternative proposals, saying Parliament depended on contributions from all members.

The Youth Parliament will also debate and pass the proposed Parliamentary Centenary Celebrations Bill, 2026, as Tanzania prepares to mark 100 years of its parliamentary institution.

The centenary dates back to the establishment of the Legislative Council of Tanganyika in 1926.

‘The Bill would allow young people to help preserve Parliament’s history, experience, values and traditions,’ said Mr Leonard.

Earlier, Head of the Parliamentary Communications Unit Zuhura Mtatifikolo said participants arrived in Dodoma on November 8 and received training on Parliament’s history, structure and functions, the Youth Parliament’s Standing Orders and parliamentary procedures.

On Tuesday, they confirmed their Prime Minister and elected a Deputy Speaker, completing the selection of other parliamentary roles, including ministers and shadow ministers, for the session.

Youth Parliament Speaker, Ms Anna Mrema, urged participants to see themselves as agents of change rather than wait for future leadership opportunities.

‘We should not complain that the Speaker has not done this or that a particular Member of Parliament has failed to act. We are the change we want to see, and we can start making that change now,’ she said.

Ms Mrema cited discipline, integrity and respect as essential leadership values, urging participants to take their knowledge to their communities and encourage positive change.

She called for regular assessments of youth empowerment programmes to determine whether training was producing meaningful results in participants’ communities.

The five-day session is expected to give participants practical experience in legislative work, democratic governance and decision-making.

Dar es Salaam. President Samia Suluhu Hassan is scheduled to attend the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Antalya, Turkey.

The COP summit is an international forum that brings together representatives of member states to discuss global strategies for mitigating climate change and implementing international environmental agreements.

The annual conferences trace their origins to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which established the UNFCCC framework and paved the way for the inaugural COP meeting in Berlin, Germany, in 1995.

State House Director of Presidential Communications Bakari Machumu confirmed the President’s participation in an official statement issued on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.

According to the statement, President Hassan is scheduled to depart for Antalya on Tuesday.

‘During her visit, she will address the summit of heads of state and government and lead discussions at a high-level panel focusing on accelerating the transition to clean cooking energy across Africa,’ reads part of the statement.

President Hassan is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with her Turkish counterpart, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the sidelines of the summit, which will focus on accelerating greenhouse gas emission reductions and addressing the severe impacts of climate change.