The Director of Preventive Services in the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Neema Rusibamayila, has expressed the government’s commitment in sustainable family planning initiatives that are tailored to decrease maternal mortality in the country. Dr Rusibamayila expressed the commitment on Wednesday evening when Marie Stopes Tanzania joined 37 other countries around the world to mark the 100 millionth client served by Marie Stopes International.

She said sustainable family planning will be among the pillars of government response in reducing mother and child deaths. However, she said, the government has met the 60 per cent benchmark it set to reduce the deaths by the end of this year.

Moreover, Dr Rusibamayila said after the deadline by the end of this year, they will set up sustainable development goals to improved the welfare of members of the public. “We have managed to reduce maternal deaths by 60 per cent thanks to contraceptive use and we appreciate the partnership we have been enjoying from Marie Stopes International (MSI) – among other partners – to reach the target,” she said.

She also said that after the deadline they will conduct a survey which will see if they have gone beyond the target by what percentage and plan for the future. Speaking at the event MSI Chief Executive Officer Simon Cooke said, “This is a proud moment for the MSI global partnership. Our vision is a world where every child is born wanted and we are delighted that our Tanzanian partner, MST, has been able to make such a strong contribution to our global impact.”

He added that “In 2014 alone, MST succeeded in serving over half a million clients, around 350,000 of whom chose contraception services. It is performances such as these that have enabled us to reach 100 million people worldwide.” He said family planning has long been recognised as a key maternal health intervention in Tanzania to help reduce deaths from complications in pregnancy and childbirth.

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