DAR ES SALAAM: TANZANIA has scaled up measures to combat Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs), rolling out key policy reforms, increasing funding and expanding healthcare access, while placing greater emphasis on prevention as the cornerstone of future health strategy.
Speaking on behalf of President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the 3rd International Conference on PEN-Plus Africa 2026 in Dar es Salaam, Health Minister Mohamed Mchengerwa said the country is strengthening health systems to focus more on prevention, early detection and community-based care.
He said the shift reflects a deliberate move away from reactive treatment towards sustainable health systems capable of preventing disease before it becomes severe.
Mr Mchengerwa stressed the need for countries to increase domestic financing for health, strengthen research and innovation, improve access to medicines and health technologies, and build resilient health systems capable of responding to emerging and re-emerging challenges.
“A hospital can treat disease, but a strong society must also prevent it. Prevention is not a side agenda, it is the first line of national resilience,” he said.
He added that health systems should focus on early detection and bringing services closer to communities.
“A health system that reaches people only after disease has become severe is not yet a system built for the future. The future belongs to health systems that detect early, treat close to home, protect families from financial hardship and sustain care over a lifetime,” he said.
Mr Mchengerwa said NCDs have risen sharply in Tanzania over the past four decades, accounting for about 39 per cent of deaths in 2021, up from less than 25 per cent in the 1980s, placing increasing pressure on households and the economy.
He said the government has responded by reviewing key frameworks, including the Health Sector Strategic Plan V, the National NCD Strategy, and the Digital Health Transformation Strategy 2024–2030, to strengthen prevention and service delivery.
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He added that digital reforms are improving healthcare through electronic medical records, telemedicine, stronger data systems and the emerging use of artificial intelligence in service delivery.
The minister said about 80 per cent of Tanzanians now access health services within five kilometres, while budget allocation for NCDs has risen from 7 per cent to over 24 per cent between 2020 and 2024, signalling a major policy shift.
“Sustainable development cannot be achieved without healthy and productive populations. Health is not a cost, it is an investment,” he said.
World Health Organisation (WHO) Africa Regional Director, Professor Mohamed Janabi, urged countries to scale up PEN-Plus programmes, warning that Africa loses about 1 trillion US dollars annually due to NCD-related productivity losses.
He said prevention could yield up to seven dollars in economic returns for every dollar invested, calling for stronger financing and expanded access to care.
The conference, which ends tomorrow, brings together African health leaders under the theme of accelerating progress toward SDG targets for NCDs by 2030.