Tanzania

In Tanzania, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has rapidly spread into rural areas, increasing the previously low rural prevalence to more than 10% in some areas. Mother-to-child transmission appears to be on the increase, as more and more women continue to become infected and pregnant. Recognising that HIV/AIDS was not only a health issue but a serious development problem the Ministry of Health moved to scale up and intensify various interventions for HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support.

Ante-natal clinics were identified as the first line of defence against the disease. They provided voluntary counselling and testing, prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV, control of sexually transmitted infections, condom promotion, care and support.  The Ministry of Health requested 500 of our radios so that women spending long hours at the clinics awaiting treatment would be exposed to health and information broadcasts which would support the Ministry’s campaign to combat infection.

In 2005 the radios, funded by the Vodafone Group Foundation, were distributed to rural health clinics in Tanzania.