COVID-19 project meeting, @FAO/Elias Ponsiano

FAO's experience in strengthening safety nets and community resilience to food insecurity contributes to mitigating the harmful impact of COVID-19.

COVID-19 has profoundly affected everyone's lives. Lifestyles and livelihoods have been disrupted and threatened by the pandemic. The African continent is not immune to the spread of the virus and countries in Eastern Africa have taken far-reaching preventive measures to limit transmission within their borders.

Through the “strengthening surveillance, coordination, and risk communication to respond to COVID-19 in hard-to-reach communities in Tanzania” project, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) support the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, particularly in rural communities

FAO, in collaboration with the One Health Coordination Desk in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO- OHCD), Ministry of Health (MoH), Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (MoLF), Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, the President’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG) and other partners including the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the Benjamin Mkapa Foundation (BMF) held a meeting on 20 and 21 January 2022 to develop a detailed action plan for the implementation of the project. The overall objective of the project is to support response activities that aim at reducing morbidity and mortality from COVID-19.

Specifically, the objectives of the project are to: i) strengthen community surveillance systems to inform decision-making for the COVID-19 response; and ii) strengthen the One Health Coordination Desk and the Emergency Operations Centre’s role in coordination and surveillance for COVID-19 and improve Knowledge, perception and health seeking behaviors among farming, and hard to reach communities. The project will leverage partnerships and experience with the One Health sector to strengthen community surveillance, coordination and Risk Communication and community engagement (RCCE).

At the official opening session, in representation of FAO, Ms. Stella Kiambi, Country Team Leader of the FAO Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) in Tanzania, emphasized that “the project aims to build on existing national efforts, creating synergy and complementarity through a One Health lens."

Mr. Harrison Chinyuka, National Coordinator, One Health Coordination Desk at the Prime Minister’s Office called for “concerted efforts to deliver COVID-19 response and other One Health activities harmoniously.”

The two-day meeting helped to review in detail the project implementation plan, agree on geographical coverage, type of participants for each of the activities, and the scope of the project (including hard-to-reach areas in Tanzania, particularly farmers including fishermen).

Strengthening surveillance, coordination, and risk communication to respond to COVID-19

When the United Republic of Tanzania faced its first case of COVID-19 in mid-March 2020, the Tanzanian Government took immediate steps to curb the spread of the pandemic. The preventive measures taken included the closure of schools and universities and issuance of sanitary regulations for citizens.

In addition, the Government closed all international borders and suspended international travel in early April of that year. However, unlike in neighbouring countries like Uganda and Kenya, the measures taken in the United Republic of Tanzania did not target economic activities, and no universal lockdown was announced. This made the Tanzanian approach unique compared to that adopted in neighbouring countries.

By mid-May, the Government began relaxing restrictions, for example by lifting quarantine requirements for international arrivals. Although economic activities were not officially closed, closure of borders, suspension of international travels and closure of schools and universities led to a reduction of food demand. Declining demand for perishable products affected the availability of healthy and nutritious food on territorial markets. As many perishable products were not collected from the producers and offered on the market anymore, a vicious cycle of reduced supply and reduced demand magnified the negative impacts the pandemic had on food security and diet quality for the vast majority of the country’s low- and middle-income population,[1] including food loss and waste.

FAO’s response to COVID-19 challenges in livelihoods

With the new COVID-19 prevention project, FAO ECTAD Tanzania will  strengthen the One Health Coordination Desk and the Emergency Operations Centre’s role in coordination and surveillance for COVID-19. The project will leverage partnerships and experience with the One Health sector to strengthen community surveillance, coordination and Risk Communication and community engagement (RCCE) related to the National COVID-19 Response Plan (version 3, July 2021 – June 2022) and associated guidelines. 

FAO ECTAD Tanzania will also coordinate prevention, preparedness and detection activities in animals, in liaison with WHO and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) using the One Health approach, a unifying force to safeguard human and animal health, while reducing disease threats and ensuring a safe food supply through effective and responsible management of natural resources.