Thousands Join Amref’s Charity Walk to Support Deployment of Midwives in Tanzania.

Amref Health Africa in Tanzania in partnership with Azania Bank Ltd conducted the 2019 Stand Up for African Mothers (SU4AM) Charity Walk on 29 June 2019 at Green Ground, Dar es Salaam,Tanzania.

The walk was honored by Hon. Ummy Mwalimu, Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children who represented the Vice president  Mama Samia Suluhu Hassan.  

Hon Ummy Mwalimu was also accompanied by the Hon. Hamad Rashid Mohamed, Minister for Health and Social Welfare for Zanzibar.

With the theme “Wezesha Uwepo wa Wakunga  kwa Uzazi Salama” meaning “Support  Deployment of Midwives for Safe Delivery” the walk   focused on creating awareness  on the importance of having enough and skilled midwives for safe delivery, engaging the public,  corporates,  private sector and other supporters  to contribute  and  support deployment  of nurse midwives especially in the rural settings.

The walk brought together about 2500 participants from top corporates, diplomats, development partners, government officials, media houses and individuals from the public as a symbol of supporting this initiative.

At the end of the walk, over 360,000,000 Tanzanian Shillings including cash and pledges which is around 30% of the expected target of 1 billion Tanzanian Shillings for three years (2019-2021) was collected from individuals, general public, various development stakeholders, private sector and corporate including Azania Bank Ltd who was the main sponsor of the event.

The amount raised will be allocated to support placement of some of the 208 trained nurse midwives out of 383 midwives who graduated (who was sponsored by Amref through SU4AM program)  and currently awaiting deployment to provide efficient, modern and quality care to mothers and children in Tanzania.

Honourable Ummy called for more engagement from various supports to ensure trained midwives are at work to save the lives of mothers and newborns to reduce preventable maternal death in the country.  Hon Ummy also appreciated Amref’s efforts to run this unique campaign and promised to continue giving support to achieve zero maternal death in the future. She also applauded Azania Bank Ltd for their readiness to support this significant initiative that complements the work of the government to reduce maternal and child mortality rates in Tanzania.

Special thanks  from Amref Health Africa Tanzania to AZANIA BANK LTD, ACACIA, ITV and RADIO ONE, Coca Cola, DALBERG, MULTCHOICE TANZANIA, CARTRAC, MWANACHI COMMUNICATION LTD, NBC BANK, ANTELOPE SAFARIS, TAMA, SERENA HOTELS, AFYA WATER, STRATEGIS INSURANACE, ARIS INSURANCE, PERFECT INFO TECH, and everyone else who made the Stand up for African Mothers Charity Walk for 2019 a success and would like to take this special opportunity to invite individuals, development stakeholders, private sector, corporate and the public at large to take part in the 2020 Charity Walk.

For more information please contact Eliminatha Paschal: Eliminatha.Paschal@Amref.org.