New Foundation eyes putting community wellness at heart of development
The minister for Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups, Dr Dorothy Gwajima. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Dr Dorothy Gwajima, commended the Foundation’s vision to shift from corporate wellness to community-focused initiatives, noting that it complements government priorities under Vision 2050
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania has taken another bold step in promoting wellness and inclusive development with the official launch of the Bloom Wellness Foundation, a new initiative aimed at addressing health and well-being challenges among women, youth, children, and marginalised groups.
Speaking at the launch, the minister for Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups, Dr Dorothy Gwajima, commended the Foundation’s vision to shift from corporate wellness to community-focused initiatives, noting that it complements government priorities under Vision 2050.
“We must be honest—too often initiatives remain fragmented, and our models lack sustainability. These gaps affect women, youth, and children most deeply,” she said, adding that wellness should not be seen merely as a health matter but as an economic and social development tool.
Dr Gwajima highlighted Tanzania’s existing policies, such as the National Strategic Plan for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases and the Adolescent and Youth Health Strategy (2021–2026), stressing that partnerships are vital to bridging existing gaps.
“Healthy communities mean higher productivity, more innovation, stronger families, and greater stability. Wellness is the heart of empowerment and the engine of sustainable progress,” she noted.
Bloom Wellness Foundation founder Sophia Byanaku outlined a five-year plan focusing on raising awareness of mental health, building the capacity of women and youth, expanding access to health services through technology, generating data to inform better policies, and strengthening partnerships for sustainability.
The Foundation builds on Ms Byanaku’s decade-long work in wellness promotion, including reaching more than 20,000 employees through corporate wellness programmes and nearly 4,000 women through Women Health Talk since 2019.
Among the distinguished guests at the launch were Dr Galbert Fedjo, the World Health Organization (WHO) Country Representative for Tanzania, and Anne-Sophie Avé, the French Ambassador to Tanzania, underscoring the importance of international collaboration in advancing wellness.
