Pamoja wakati wa dharura: UNFPA hands over Dignity Kits

“Besides safety and protection, women and girls affected by floods and mud slide must have access to quality sexual and reproductive health care when they need it,” said Mark Bryan Schreiner, the UNFPA Representative in the United Republic of Tanzania.

Hanang, Manyara, Tanzania—UNFPA Tanzania, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency has donated dignity kits to facilitate proper personal hygiene for women and girl survivors of mudslides in Hanang.

The kits contain a menstrual pads, bath soap, multiple pairs of underwear, washing soap, toothpaste, and a toothbrush, all packed inside a 20 litre bucket. Each of these items caters to the specific needs of women and girls. 

Women and girls are among the 5,600 survivors of the 3^rd December heavy rainfalls that brought floods and mudslides in Hanang, Manyara region Tanzania.

With belongings and households swept by the flood, women who survived endure shortage of reproductive health and personal hygiene supplies.

UNFPA delivered the 1,200 Dignity Kits in Hanang that were received on behalf of the government by Colonel Selestine Masalamado, Assistant Director of Operations and Coordination in the disaster management department of the Prime Minister’s office.

The PM office disaster management department is overseeing the response efforts in Hanang.

“Besides safety and protection, women and girls affected by floods and mud slide must have access to quality sexual and reproductive health care when they need it,” said Mark Bryan Schreiner, the UNFPA Representative in the United Republic of Tanzania.

The official death count from the flood is 88, as of 11 December. The flooding injured 139 people and washed away an estimated 750 acres of crops.

UNFPA’s provision of Dignity Kits joins the United Nations system emergency response to Hanang.

The World Food Programme, delivered food; World Health Organization supplied cholera rapid kits and pool testers.

UNICEF delivered water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies. Additionally, the UN system is providing technical support to the response.

“As Tanzania tackles the impact of above average rainfall in different locations, UNFPA pledges continued support,” said Mark Bryan Schreiner, the UNFPA Representative in the United Republic of Tanzania.

The mudslides and floods swept houses and farms on the sloped suburbs of Hanang town. The muddy water swamped roads, homes and business premises downhill. Search and rescue operations continue as three camps host 237 displaced people.

UNFPA Tanzania provides sexual and reproductive health and gender based violence protection in emergency and humanitarian context, specifically in refugee camps in Kigoma.

Globally UNFPA is on the ground providing humanitarian aid in more than 60 countries. 

                                                                                                      __ENDS__

EDITORIAL NOTE:

UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. Our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. We promote gender equality and empower women, girls and young people to take control of their bodies and their futures. We work with partners to provide access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services. Our goal is ending unmet need for family planning, preventable maternal death, and gender-based violence and harmful practices including child marriage and female genital mutilation by 2030. 

Our Motto is Ensuring Rights and Choices for all

The goal of UNFPA is to ensure sexual and reproductive rights and choices for all, especially women and young people, so that they can access high-quality sexual and reproductive health services, including voluntary family planning, maternal health care and comprehensive sexuality education. All of our work is grounded in human rights and respect for culture. Our work on their behalf is informed by an understanding of population dynamics, human rights and cultural sensitivities.

OUR 3 TRANSFORMATIVE RESULTS 

In 2018, UNFPA launched efforts to achieve three transformative results, also known as the three zeros, by 2030:

● Ending unmet need for family planning: Zero unmet need for family planning. We are the world’s single-largest provider of donated contraceptives to developing countries, and our programmes increase the availability of contraceptives and dismantle barriers to services.

● Ending preventable maternal death: Zero preventable maternal deaths. We help strengthen health systems, train and educate health workers and midwives, and improve access to a full range of reproductive health services. Our support for women’s maternal health is especially significant in 32 countries with the highest rates of maternal mortality and morbidity.

● Ending gender-based violence and harmful practices: Zero gender-based violence and harmful practices. We work with policymakers, justice systems and health systems and engage men and boys to advance gender equality. We protect survivors of gender-based violence by providing a combination of essential services, including in humanitarian crises. 

For further information please contact: 

Warren Bright,

Communications Analyst,

UNFPA Tanzania,

Email: bwarren@unfpa.org,

Mobile: +255 764 43 44 45