The East African country reported its first corona case on 16 March 2020. The following day, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa announced several measures his government was taking to curb the spread of the virus. These measures were: closing down all schools and colleges, and suspending all sports events and gatherings. The government also embarked on an awareness campaign that focused on preventive measures such as handwashing, the use of sanitizers and mask wearing. The number of passengers in public transport was cut as commuter buses were only allowed to carry seated passengers. No lockdown was instituted but for a while it seemed the country was complying with basic prevention measures recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Tanzanian #COVID-19 experience reveals the importance of the political leadership in the fight against the disease @Shangweliberia.
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That was until May 2020 when the government stopped releasing COVID-19 data. At the time, the country had recorded 509 cases and 21 deaths. To date, that remains to be the official data on Tanzania, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During the same month, President John Magufuli questioned the efficacy of coronavirus testing kits after samples from a goat and a pawpaw tested positive for COVID-19. A day after this query, the head of the national health laboratory was suspended on 4 May. On 15 April, Deputy Health Minister Faustine Ndugulile, a medical doctor by profession, warned the public against steam inhalation as a possible COVID-19 treatment. A week later on 22 April, President Magufuli spoke passionately in favour of steam inhalation, urging the public to revert to other natural remedies to treat the disease. The Deputy Minister was eventually dismissed on 22 May. Positioned squarely against the president, it was a real test for the health institution in the country. The President’s position also created tension with other actors, especially religious institutions. While President Magufuli appeared to bank on divine intervention to defeat the pandemic, the Church was preaching science.
In July 2020, the government relaxed all measures and until January this year, life seemed almost back to normal. During that time, President Magufuli had more than once declared Tanzania a corona-free country.
But in January 2021, fresh concerns surfaced after reports of rising cases. Meanwhile, the Tanzanian government continued with its approach of withholding information. However, a series of high-profile deaths has reinforced the narrative on the increasing prevalence of COVID-19. Those fears were not helped by President Magufuli’s death on 17 March. The cause of the death was a heart condition, according to the official government statement.
Prior to President Magufuli’s death, the government maintained that it would not accept the coronavirus vaccine until there is sufficient proof on its efficacy. Instead, it would concentrate on the promotion of natural remedies to treat ‘infectious diseases.’ Given the political context, the mere mentioning of COVID-19 had become taboo, with government and media reports adopting the use of the terms ‘respiratory challenge,’ or simply, ‘pneumonia’ instead. Face masks have become a political statement, with President Magufuli at times praising those who did not wear them. A mayor of Moshi municipality even ordered mask-wearing councillors to take them off or leave the meeting.
Local, regional and international reactions
With no official government information on the status of the disease, several local and international actors have stepped in. Locally, the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS), the country’s bar association, issued a statement on 19th February calling on the government to acknowledge the presence of COVID-19 in the country, and announce mandatory preventive measures. Likewise, the Medical Association of Tanzania (MAT) issued a statement which confirms growing cases of ‘pneumonia’ and urged the public to take preventive measure including wearing of masks. The Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT- Wazalendo), an opposition party in the country, took the lead by announcing that its Chairman and First Vice President of Zanzibar, Seif Sharif Hamad, had been hospitalized after he contracted the coronavirus. Mr. Hamad has since succumbed to the disease. On the other hand, religious institutions such as the Roman Catholic Church announced a series of preventive measures against COVID-19. Other voices have come from activists on cyber spaces.
There has been no meaningful regional response to the situation in Tanzania. This is, in part, due to the fact that other countries in the region have challenges of their own in coping with the pandemic. The only response has come from Africa CDC which rejected President Magufuli’s criticism about the inefficacy of the testing kits. Significant response has come from the WHO which has urged the Tanzanian government to scale up public health measures and start reporting and sharing COVID-19 data. Moreover, the United States (US) embassy in Tanzania has on different occasions warned its citizens to reconsider traveling to the country and urging the Tanzanian authorities and public to take basic precautions. The international media has also put Tanzania under spotlight with numerous reports on the COVID-19 situation in the country.
Local, regional and international implications
In the midst of mounting pressure, on 25 February the government issued a statement which called on the public to take health measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. However, still, no mandatory measures were announced, meaning that precaution is left at the individual’s discretion.
Tanzania’s COVID-19 strategy appears to contravene regional and international commitments. As indicated above, the WHO has expressed concerns over the country’s handling of the pandemic. At regional level, both the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have official guidelines on how to respond to the pandemic. The EAC COVID-19 Response Plan, for instance, calls for ensuring that the region has “adequate capacity for surveillance, case detection and management.”
Diplomatic tensions have surfaced between Tanzania and Kenya during the pandemic over the implementation of COVID-19 safety guidelines. For instance,, after Kenya put Tanzania on its list of countries from which nationals were restricted from entering the country for failure to observe COVID-19 protocols, Tanzania reciprocated by banning Kenya Airways from its airspace. This followed a series of border tensions between the two countries over the same matter. Such incidents not only harm the regional integration process but also undermine the continental free trade initiative. Meanwhile, the relationship between Tanzania and WHO has suffered since the outbreak, as manifested in the organization’s statements on Tanzania. As the secrecy around the COVID-19 situation in Tanzania continues, it is likely the country will be on the receiving end of some form of travel restrictions imposed by other countries.
Tanzania’s COVID-19 strategy has been described as an outlier in the region. As the world moves toward vaccination, it is important for the country to align its interests with basic regional and international COVID-19 protocols so as to assist with the pandemic mitigation efforts. Such a step is crucial in restoring and maintaining trust between the citizens and local, regional and international institutions. The Tanzanian COVID-19 experience reveals the importance of the political leadership in the fight against the disease. Following the swearing-in of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, there is a shared optimism that the country’s COVID-19 strategy will change for better. It is an optimism shared by Tedros Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General. However, there are so far no signs of any drastic change in the country’s COVID-19 strategy. The only hope rests on a cautious optimism.
Dr. Muhidin Shangwe is a lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam.
