PRIME MINISTER, Kassim Majaliwa has said the stunting rate among children under the age of five in the country has dropped from 48% in 1992 to 30% in 2022.
He said, the rate of wasting among children under the age of five has decreased from 5 percent in 1992 to 3.2 percent in 2022.
He said this on September 30, 2025 when he closed the 11th meeting of nutrition stakeholders in the country, held at the APC conference hall located in Bunju in Dar es Salaam.
He said the sixth-phase government led by President, Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan recognizes that nutrition is not only a health issue, but is a pillar of human resource, economic and social development.
“The Government’s mission is to ensure that every Tanzanian has enough food, good health and good nutrition”, he said.
Mr. Majaliwa said, President Dr. Samia has continued to be a leader in the fight against malnutrition by ensuring that nutrition issues are given priority by strengthening the budget, improving monitoring systems and mobilizing nutrition interventions from the national to the rural levels.
“These efforts enabled him to receive the Global Goalkeeper Award from the Gates Foundation, due to his significant contribution in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in maternal, child and nutrition health”, he said
Mr. Majaliwa said the rate of overweight and obesity (kiribatumbo) especially among women of reproductive age has increased from 28% in 2015 to 37% in 2022.
“This challenge reflects the changes in eating habits and lifestyles that have affected not only Tanzania but the entire world”, he said
Mr. Majaliwa has called on all public and private Ministries and Institutions to allocate sufficient resources for nutrition interventions and include them in their annual plans to increase accountability and sustainability in implementing the planned plans.
Mr. Majaliwa has called on Research Institutions and Higher Education Institutions to develop research on nutrition issues as well as ensure that the reports of such research are used to improve policies and strategies in the country.
The Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Labour, Youth, Employment and Persons with Disabilities), Mr. Ridhiwan Kikwete, said the Government will ensure that all stakeholders aligned with the Integrated Nutrition Programme continue to implement their responsibilities.
“This includes ensuring that all Ministries include nutrition issues in their annual budget plans”,
He added that the Prime Minister’s Office has successfully completed a study on the costs of malnutrition which aimed to identify the costs and impacts of malnutrition on social and economic development.
“The results of the study will be used as an important tool to sensitize senior Government leaders and policy makers, through various platforms to contribute to further steps in the fight to eradicate malnutrition, especially among children”, he said
