Aga Khan Hospital joins Tanzania's effort towards UN’s SDG

Dar es Salaam. The Aga Khan Hospital has embarked on a collaborative project aimed at providing strategic solutions for Tanzania to address the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SGDs).

The project dubbed “CHOICE”, implemented under the Institute for Global Health and Development, Aga Khan University Pakistan, sheds light on investing in women to accelerate gender equality, mental health and environment.

The project, spearheaded by Prof Ahmed Josabani, who doubles as the Head of Radiology at The Aga Khan, aims to establish a robust think tank.

This think tank will evaluate Tanzania's progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while identifying obstacles and proposing viable solutions.

Prof Josabani emphasized the importance of investing in women to expedite progress in gender equality, mental health, and environmental sustainability.

He told journalists in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, March 27, 2024 that the project was being implemented in five countries, including Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan, Ghana, Kenya and Pakistan.

Various countries, according to him, including Tanzania, were slowed in reaching SDGs due to Covid-19 outbreak and the Russia-Ukraine war that have impacted the global.

However, he said their project will provide solutions on how Tanzania can achieve the three goals by 20230 or before that, with six years left to the set deadline.

“The project will provide long-term sustainable solutions that can be implemented in the country and not depend on those provided by European or other countries,” he said.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows Tanzania has made great strides as it strives to achieve 2030, with the goals of health, water and sanitation, gender and energy improving significantly.

For instance, the report says, Tanzania has made a remarkable milestone in implementing goal number 3 which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all.

Earlier, introducing the project, Aga Khan Health Services Tanzania chief executive officer, Mr Sisawo Konteh urged all stakeholders engaged with the CHOICE project to come up with innovative, sustainable, and scalable solutions that will expedite Tanzania’s progress towards achieving health-related sustainable development goals.

“By keeping women and girls at the forefront of climate adaptation and mitigation strategies and using gender mainstreaming in the provision of mental health services, we can pave the way forward in achieving impactful and long-lasting progress on women’s rights within our nation,” he said.

National Coordinator of the Gender and Climate Change Tanzania Coalition (GCCTC), Ms Maria Matui said the project will focus on how communities will be directly involved in providing suggestions and advice to make decisions regarding climate change and their effects.

"We have noticed there is a need to broaden our scope to directly engage the community members who are primarily affected so that we can together achieve the 2030 Agenda,” she said.