Josephine Christopher is a senior business journalist for The Citizen and Mwananchi newspapers
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Tanzania continues to experience emerging and re-emerging epidemics, including cholera, dengue, Covid-19 and Marburg, which are placing growing pressure on the health system.
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s health sector leaders have been urged to strengthen epidemic preparedness and integrate research evidence into national planning, as the country grapples with a growing burden of epidemic-prone diseases amid a youthful and expanding population.
Speaking yesterday during a policy dialogue organised by the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), the Director of the Division of Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health at the Ministry of Health, Dr Ahmad Makuwani, said the meeting comes at a critical time for the country, whose demographic profile is dominated by children and young people.
He noted that Tanzania continues to experience emerging and re-emerging epidemics, including cholera, dengue, Covid-19 and Marburg, which are placing growing pressure on the health system.
“These outbreaks underline the urgent need for strong preparedness, early detection and timely response systems informed by evidence,” Dr Makuwani said.
He added that the policy dialogue offered an opportunity to reflect on the epidemic landscape and strengthen the country’s collective capacity to prevent and respond to public health threats.
Dr Makuwani linked epidemic preparedness to the implementation of Vision 2050, which prioritises investment in a healthy and productive population as a foundation for economic transformation.
He said conducting research in priority areas and holding structured policy dialogues were key to ensuring that research findings are translated into evidence-based decisions.
On lessons from recent epidemics, he recalled the impact of Covid-19, Ebola and Marburg outbreaks, noting that during the pandemic, the late President John Magufuli had encouraged the use of traditional medicines to manage symptoms at a time when vaccines and cures were unavailable.
“Research is needed to inform policy on how traditional medicines can be safely and effectively used during epidemic outbreaks to save lives,” he said.
He calledon the government to invest in this area, as many development partners were reluctant to fund traditional medicine research due to competing priorities.
Dr Makuwani stressed the need to strengthen early detection and surveillance, build community trust through effective risk communication, integrate epidemic preparedness into reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) platforms, and align epidemic response with the One Health and climate-sensitive disease control approaches.
The Director General of NIMR, Prof Said Aboud said the institute had convened the dialogue to ensure that research on epidemic-prone diseases is translated into actionable policies and programme responses.
“The dialogue seeks to co-create practical, evidence-informed solutions that strengthen epidemic preparedness, prevention and response, while ensuring that policies are grounded in realities on the ground,” he said.
Presenting the evidence landscape, Prof Aboud said research shows that effective epidemic preparedness depends on strong surveillance systems, a resilient health workforce and reliable supply chains.
However, he said persistent inequities remain across geography, gender and socio-economic groups, with vulnerable populations often bearing the heaviest burden during outbreaks.
“Significant gaps persist, particularly in sub-national preparedness, equity-focused data and mechanisms to ensure sustainable preparedness,” he said, adding that the dialogue was an opportunity to identify priority research and policy gaps.
On research-to-policy translation, Prof Aboud said NIMR had strengthened its engagement with decision-makers through policy briefs, policy dialogues and embedded research, but acknowledged challenges related to timing, accessibility and communication between researchers and policymakers.
“We continue to work closely with the Ministry of Health and local government authorities to ensure that evidence is timely, accessible and directly informs policy formulation and implementation,” he said.
The NIMR chief called for stronger partnerships with government institutions, development partners, academic bodies and communities, saying sustained collaboration and co-investment were essential for building national research and implementation capacity.
In his call to action, Dr Makuwani challenged participants to move from dialogue to implementation by ensuring that recommendations from the meeting inform national strategies, including the Health Sector Strategic Plan, RMNCAH plans and epidemic preparedness frameworks.
NIMR said it would document and disseminate the outcomes of the dialogue and follow up to ensure that the agreed recommendations are fed into national plans and policies to strengthen Tanzania’s health system.
