Ivan Teri, Tanzanian in diaspora whose love for homeland remains

By Anganile Mwakyanjala

Dar es Salaam. With more than 70,000 Tanzanians in the United States, the North American country has the largest number of Tanzanian diaspora in the world.

Their contribution to their motherland goes beyond remittance as many of them bring back expertise and knowledge acquired in top-notch universities in the world and implement it within Tanzanian communities.

Mr Teri had a dream of becoming a lawyer and a psychologist before deciding to follow in his father’s footsteps, upon returning to Tanzania after his studies, his first job was with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation and he has been with them ever since. For the three and a half years he worked in Tanzania, he worked in many regions from the south in Mtwara, Lindi to the northern circuit in Kilimanjaro and Arusha. He would later support the regional programmes across several countries including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda before making his transition to the global team in Washington D.C. “Seeing the money lawyers make in Washington DC, I wish I had stuck to law studies” he joked while laughing. Ivan’s work for an HIV-free generation is still a daunting mission, the earliest cases of HIV/Aids in Africa were reported in the early 1980s, and more than 40 years later it is affecting many parts of the continent. “HIV is still an epidemic, it can increase exponentially if it is not controlled” Mr Teri cautioned. Stigma, discrimination, lack of awareness, risky behaviour, limited access to HIV prevention, testing, and treatment, and lack of social and economic inequities still pose a challenge to the elimination of the virus from the continent. “If today we say, let’s stop all the interventions, you will see a rise in HIV/AIDS cases,” he said. “It is still very dangerous but we have made improvements in so many areas, “ he added.

HIV/AIDS is much more controlled with people living longer and quality lives with the availability of regular testing, ARVs, various prevention strategies, and widespread education. Now the focus is on making sure the people living with HIV get access to better biomedical technologies including more effective and easier-to-manage medications, quality care and treatment services, better income-generating opportunities, protection from climate change and other non-communicable diseases, social protections, and more. Hence the need for HIV programs to work with multiple sectors, like finance, agriculture, private sector, and civil society so that vulnerable and marginalised groups are reached and systems are strengthened to ensure long-term and sustainable policies and practices are in place.

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Ivan Teri, Tanzanian in diaspora whose love for homeland remains

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