Tanzania trains health workers against diabetes, hypertension
A three-year programme will equip 25,500 students and 1,600 professionals with skills to manage chronic diseases.
Tanzania is launching a three-year programme to train 25,500 health students and 1,600 practising health professionals to combat rising diabetes and hypertension. Amref Health Africa Tanzania and the Novo Nordisk Foundation are partnering to support 113 health training institutions and establish two Centres of Excellence. This initiative aims to improve the detection, prevention, and management of cardiometabolic diseases.
The programme addresses identified gaps in how nurses and clinical officers are trained, as these professionals play a central role in primary healthcare delivery. A previous assessment found that cardiometabolic disease subjects were taught separately with limited practical learning. Hypertension affects more than 25 per cent of Tanzanian adults, and diabetes prevalence is between three and five per cent.
The initiative will collaborate with the government and universities to align educational improvements with national health priorities. Denmark’s Ambassador to Tanzania, Jesper Kammersgaard, highlighted the partnership as an example of international collaboration strengthening the health sector. Professor Flemming Konradsen of the Novo Nordisk Foundation stated that investing in health professional education is essential for reducing healthcare inequalities.
Why it mattersTanzanian adults are directly affected by rising rates of hypertension and diabetes, which require better management by trained health professionals.