Tanzania’s Child Health Push Calls for More Paediatric Specialists

Tanzania has made historic gains in maternal health, but the next frontier is child survival. With just 350 paediatric specialists serving a nation that welcomes more than 2.3 million newborns each year, health leaders say expanding specialist training is essential to protect the country’s youngest citizens and accelerate progress in reducing preventable child deaths. The country’s health professionals said that the shortage is one reason neonatal deaths, particularly those occurring within the first 28 days of life, continue to account for a significant share of under-five mortality. While Tanzania has made notable progress in reducing maternal deaths, improvements in newborn and child survival have been slower. “This gap explains why preventable deaths still occur,” said Professor Pascal Rugajo, Dean of the Aga Khan University (AKU) Medical College in Tanzania. He noted that as maternal mortality declines, national health priorities are increasingly shifting toward strengthening specialised care for children.