Swelling numbers of young population cause for worry

Anyone not quite clear on this does not have to go very far or invest very much in research to get authoritative information and data to support our stance. Enough evidence is already in place and a few taps on the relevant computer keys or buttons will show it all.

For instance, UNICEF recently issued figures on progress on the state of children in Tanzania over the years that are grim enough to jolt the nation into far greater and faster remedial and other action than we have witnessed thus far.

For would there be any more convenient or sensible course of action than this in the face of reports that the under-five death rate in the country fell by half between 2005 and last year but infant mortality still contributes to 64 per cent of the number of deaths among under-fives?

What would be a better option given that 390 under-fives die every day, with a whole 40 per cent of these deaths occurring in the first 28 days of life?

How should one react upon learning that only one-fifth of children aged between six and 23 months in mainland Tanzania and in Zanzibar receive a minimum acceptable diet in terms of meal frequency, food diversity and continued breastfeeding?

Or, that 59 per cent of babies aged up to five months in mainland Tanzania and an overwhelming 80 per cent in Zanzibar are not exclusively breastfed – as near-unanimously endorsed by experts across the globe?

It is as surprising as it is intimidating seeing that all these figures – and lots more – are often released in public and subjected to heated professional and wider debate in the full glare of media publicity.

Is it not genuine cause for grave concern hearing that 34 per cent of the 91,000 under-15 children in Tanzania living with HIV have no access to the all-important antiretroviral treatment, which is usually available at no cost to those in need of it?

Or, that 7,900 women die every year during pregnancy, childbirth or within 42 days of terminating their pregnancy – with only two to three in five women delivering their babies in a health facility?

Or, possibly an even sadder tale: only a lowly 13 per cent of Tanzanian under-fives have a birth certificate, with those in the rural parts of the mainland five times less likely to have the document than those in urban areas?

Going by UNICEF, children – that is, under-18s – constitute half Tanzania’s population of an estimated 46 million by the latest count. That is precisely why the government and the UN agency have been busy leading or supporting initiatives bent on nurturing the full potential of every child in the country.

It is however of vital importance for even more local and other players to throw their full weight behind these and related efforts – with whatever resources they can extend to the noble cause.

Even merely recommending more workable ways of taming the tiger, for tiger is what the challenges ahead really are. Seriously. It is projected that Tanzania will have some 54 million under-18s by 2050. It’s reason enough for us to be better focused and move faster than now obtains.