French Development Agency has struck a lasting partnership with Tanzania

Access to safe drinking water and sani­tation is fundamental but in 2017, only 63 per cent of the country’s population had access to an improved source of drinking water and only 23 per cent of households used an improved toilet facility, while 7 per cent did not have access to any kind of sanitation facility.  

This situation poses severe health risks and is responsible for over 50 per cent of diseases (cholera, dysentery, and diarrhea) that affect in particular rural dwellers and children under-five. Diarrhea killed close to 10,000 Children in 2016 alone in Tan­zania.

The arrival of a financial institution with a unique history

It was therefore inevitable that in decid­ing on its priorities for financial support, the French Development Agency (AFD), when it began its work in Tanzania, would give high priority to the creation of infra­structure for providing clean drinking water and also for establishing modern sanitation systems in rural areas. This has thus far been done with some success over the past few years.

AFD first entered Tanzania in 2004, at the request of Tanzanian government, and launched its first project in that year. Since that time, AFD has continued to support the Tanzanian Ministry of Water (MoW) in the implementation of the Water Sector Development Program. Within this scope, AFD has funded projects to the cost of 257 million Euros, since 2009.

Responding to a constantly changing World

Over the years, Agence Française de Développement has developed its mis­sions, its partners and its fields of action in order to adapt to changes in interna­tional balances and development issues. The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) now funds, supports and accelerates the transitions to a fairer and more sustain­able world.

Focusing on climate, biodiversity, peace, education, urban development, health and governance, our teams carry out more than 4,000 projects in 115 countries. In this way, AFD contribute to the commitment of France and French people to support the sustainable development goals.

So much for the world. What about Tan­zania?

The group has intervened in Tanzania since 1993, first through its Proparco sub­sidiary, by supporting the country’s devel­opment. AFD has mobilized an increasing volume of financing for a total amount of 600 million Euros between 2009 and 2018 – covering both sovereign and non-sover­eign loans – in support of various projects in its historical intervention sectors of Water & Sanitation (43% of the commit­ments between 2009-2018) and Energy (48% of the commitments between 2009- 2018).

Far-sighted strategies in water and sani­tation sectors

As part of a regional strategy in favour of the preservation of the Lake Victoria’s watershed, AFD has contributed up to 123.5 million Euros to projects in the towns around the lake such as Mwanza, Bukoba, Musoma, Misungwi, Magu and Lamadi since 2008. The inhabitants of this heavi­ly populated region of Tanzania benefited from these projects through the improve­ment of their access to drinking water and creation of modern sanitation facilities.

On September 5, 2018, H.E Dr John Pombe Magufuli, the President of the Unit­ed Republic of Tanzania, inaugurated an AFD-funded international standard water treatment plant in Musoma with a capacity of 36,000 cubic meters a day.

This was a far-sighted long-term project, as it supplies the equivalent of 200 per cent of the estimated needs of Musoma’s current population.

The 1,500 connections to the new dis­tribution network funded by this project, will allow about 10,000 residents to gain sustainable access to safe drinking water.

In 2016, the AFD board approved a 70 million Euro sovereign loan to provide for the medium term water demand and enhance the sanitation service in Moro­goro Municipality, the 6th largest city in the country which has about 360,000 inhabitants and a high population growth.

The objectives of this project are to increase supply of drinkable water; improve the water distribution system, with a focus on creating a reliable supply of clean water for the poorer members of the community; and increase the access to sanitation for all residents of this region by improving and expanding the sewerage system.

Indentifying new projects

AFD will continue supporting the imple­mentation of the Water Sector Develop­ment Program (WSDP) Phase II, primar­ily through the urban water and sanitation component in the main cities of Tanzania.

At the request of the Tanzanian author­ities, AFD is currently identifying two new projects: a water supply and sanitation project in Shinyanga. And sanitation and reduction of non-revenue water project for the southern neighbourhoods of Dar Es Salaam.

These projects would contribute to giv­ing access to water to more than 80,000 people; and establishing a modern sanita­tion system that will serve about 275,000 people while also preserving marine bio­diversity.

A strong commitment to energy security and rural electrification

AFD in Tanzania has been funding electricity infrastructure and developing renewable energies and energy efficiency through the provision of 278 million Euros to the government of Tanzania since 2009.

The projects which have been undertak­en in the power sector include the rehabil­itation of 10 electrical sub-stations and the communication system of TANESCO in 2013; the construction of the Geita-Nyaka­nasi power line and stations in 2014; the rural electrification project (100 million Euros) in 2017; and the electricity inter­connexion between Tanzania and Zambia (100 million Euros) in 2018.

AFD also supports the power sector’s development through financing provided to the Tanzanian banking sector to stimu­late private initiatives in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Expansion of Health Facilities

Finally, AFD also supports the develop­ment of the health sector in the country, a case in point being a non-sovereign con­cessional loan for the expansion of the Aga Khan Hospital of Dar es Salaam inaugurat­ed on March 9, 2019.

The new health facilities financed by AFD, will enable the institution to serve over one million patients each year through the creation of cardiology and oncology services, along with the establishment of a network of 27 new Aga Khan outreach centres country wide.

The way forward

AFD has had a substantial and very pos­itive impact on Tanzania, and particularly in the very sectors in which improvements immediately lead to better quality of life for the citizens of the nation.

For the coming years, AFD intends to double the volume of its contribution to the development of Tanzania with an aver­age annual commitment of 100 million Euros.

But even as this is done, AFD will also open new areas of intervention such as Agriculture and the Environment. In addi­tion, AFD is planning to get involved in the transport sector to support the Govern­ment in improving transport conditions particularly in Dar es Salaam through financing Phase 5 of the ambitious Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project and in Dodo­ma through the Mobilize Your City Ini­tiative.

Despite Tanzania’s dynamic growth and relatively steady economy, the coun­try continues to face several challenges in reducing poverty levels, considering the rate of population growth.

AFD Tanzania has since supported pro­jects that stimulate sustainable growth. The Agency works hand-in-hand with the Tanzanian government to mobilize increasing amounts of funds, dedicated to sectors where the most significant impact can be felt by the ordinary citizens of the country. All this is done in line with the Five-Year Development Plan II which aims to make Tanzania a Middle-Income Coun­try by 2025.

The strong partnership which has been forged between AFD and the people and leaders of Tanzania will in the coming years continues to deliver transformation­al and sustainable benefits.