Tanzania - HIV / AIDS remains a major public health issue around the world and has been responsible for over 35 million deaths to date. Migrants and mobile populations are recognised as being at a high risk of HIV infection as they frequently face marginalisation, exclusion and various barriers to accessing health promotion and care.

In Tanzania HIV / AIDS remains the number one cause of mortality and to mark World AIDS Day 2015 on December 1st, IOM organized two events to target drivers of the epidemic.

During the first two days of December, IOM staff and volunteers from the Youth of United Nations Association of Tanzania (YUNA) distributed over 1,000 packages to bus drivers and travellers at Ubungo Bus Station. Ubungo is the central bus station of Dar es Salaam and is the transportation link to most large urban areas such as Arusha, Moshi, Morogoro and Dodoma.

The packages contained pamphlets providing information on HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases in Kiswahili, World Aids Day 2015 keyrings and condoms donated by Population Services International (Tanzania).

The advocacy event was designed to raise awareness of the scale of the HIV problem and to provide information on measures to control the spread of the disease.

Ubungo was targeted based on the findings of a 2014 IOM study: “Health Vulnerabilities of Mobile Populations and Affected Communities at the Port of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania”. The study highlighted the HIV vulnerability of mobile populations and surrounding communities on transport corridors, due to high levels of concurrent sexual partnerships and low rates of condom use.

On 2 December 2015, IOM also facilitated a round table discussion on HIV/AIDS at the Muhimbili University of Allied Sciences to increase the awareness of the disease among Tanzanian youth. Speakers included representatives from IOM, TACAIDS and the Muhimbili University of Allied Sciences.

Dr. Subilaga Kaganda of TACAIDS said: "This event is a great initiative. HIV in Tanzania is decreasing in all age groups except for the 15-24 age group. The youth are difficult to reach and this relaxed environment was a good place to start a discussion on the issue."

While there is no cure for the HIV infection, effective antiretroviral (ARV) drugs can control the virus and help prevent transmission so that people with HIV can enjoy healthy and productive lives. UNAIDS estimates that there are currently 1.5 million Tanzanians living with HIV and in 2014, there were almost 70,000 new infections and 50,000 deaths recorded. In 2013, over a million Tanzanian children were orphaned as a result of the disease.

The events were run as part of IOM’s Partnership for Health and Mobility in East and Southern Africa (PHAMESA), which aims to contribute to improved standards of physical, mental, and social wellbeing of migrants and migration-affected populations in East and Southern Africa, enabling them to substantially contribute towards the social and economic development of their communities.

For further information, please contact Sashi Perera at IOM Dar es Salaam, Tel.  +255 765 099 577, Email: sperera@iom.int