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28 April 2021, Dar-es-Salaam – Nearly 1,900 households and healthcare facilities in Kinondoni municipality in Dar Es Salaam have received sanitation and hygiene products through Smart Hands Tanzania (SHTz) project.
Smart Hands Tanzania (SHTz) project is a private sector-led initiative aimed at increasing the private sector’s investment and participation in addressing water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) challenges facing vulnerable communities by delivering results through an equity lens.
Spearheaded by the CEO Roundtable of Tanzania in partnership with UNICEF Tanzania and with the support and collaboration of the Government of Tanzania, the SHTz project has mobilized technical support from different private sector and civil society stakeholders. The stakeholders include Dalberg, AMREF Health African inTanzania, Pricewaterhouse Coopers Ltd, Chemi Cotex Industries Ltd and Primefuels Tanzania Ltd. The project has also received financial support from Novo Nordisk Foundation, Givaudan Foundation and ABSA Bank Tanzania.
In support of the Government of Tanzania’s efforts to provide the most in need communities with critical hygiene products, the SHTz project focuses on large scale distribution of sanitation products in three municipalities in Dar Es Salaam Region in the short term and intends to scale up the distribution to other Regions in the mid to long-term. The scale-up options will take a three-pronged approach that will involve the large scale distribution of soaps, hand sanitizers, and water treatment chemicals for improved access to safe water supply.
The distribution activities commenced in Kinondoni municipality on 8th to 13th April engaging with government officials at local levels. More than 1,900 households received hand sanitizers, soaps and water purification tablets 67mg for household water treatment and storage. More than 55 healthcare facilities also received hand sanitizers, soaps and water purification tablets. Distribution in Ilala and Temeke Municipalities are underway.
Aligned to the National Sanitation Campaign and endorsed by the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children (MoHCDEC) and Regional Authorities, the SHTz project is leveraging the private sector’s manufacturing capacity, donations, distribution channels and transportation networks to bolster response efforts by fast-tracking the supply and distribution of critical hygiene products to vulnerable communities.
Understanding the importance of behavior change and community engagement, the SHTz project aligns to the existing National initiatives on social behavioral change and community engagement to accelerate communities’ adoption of appropriate hygiene and sanitation practices. This will be achieved working through existing community level platforms and other communication channels such as mass media, radio, social media, and influencers both at national and community level to empower communities.
As the SHTz project is built on private sector’s capabilities, commitment, and experience, the continued success of the SHTz project is dependent on enhanced collaboration and partnerships. Join us and leverage partnerships to create sustainable models for beneficiaries to access hygiene and sanitation products at price points that are increasingly affordable in the long term.
