Ardent followers of international news should by this time have noticed that in big press conferences at the White House in Washington, 10 Downing Street in London and in developed countries in general, it is usually senior, long-serving reporters who ask questions. No wonder they normally ask tough and probing questions.
In contrast, press conferences in Tanzania are usually dominated by young journalists, some of whom are still very early in their careers.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it would have been much better if a sizeable number of veteran journalists were in their midst to provide them with on-the-job coaching, or mentoring.
It’s thus not surprising that sometimes there is a general lack of institutional memory that would have enabled greenhorns in journalism to connect the dots and probe from an informed point of view.
This scenario is not by accident. It is by design. Unlike in the West, where a senior journalist can be well compensated at times even more than their editor because of their being authoritative and highly competent, it is a different story in Africa.
To get a raise, you have to be given a leadership role that would justify the increment.
So, more often than not, we end up promoting people to their highest levels of incompetence in this part of the world.
You give me a promotion to justify a raise, but what you don’t know is that while I may be very good in my field, I could be terrible at managing people.
I might be very intelligent, with a very high IQ, but very low on Emotional Intelligence. And once I ascend to that position, my belief is that I have a monopoly of knowledge and skills to solve everything. My word is absolute. Remember, I’m the “boss”. Right? Wrong!
We become arrogant. We don’t engage much. We want to prove ourselves. Our word is law.
While that doesn’t necessarily kill one’s expertise immediately, such a person will over time lose touch with their field as they continue to be an obstacle to their team’s success.
One of my media leadership professors at Rhodes University, Sol Plaatje Institute, in Grahamstown, South Africa, where I attended a short course in Media Leadership and Management back in 2011, had this to say in reference to the mistake most newsrooms in Africa tend to make when they promote a great reporter to an editor (manager): “We end up killing a great journalist and creating a terrible manager.”
When Nation Media Group bought a controlling stake in Mwananchi Communications Limited in the early 2000s, it facilitated the establishment of an English daily going by the name of The Citizen.
I was privileged to be the newspaper’s first Business Editor when it was launched on September 16, 2004.
The late Zephania Ubwani, aka “Zeph”, who died last weekend in Arusha, was among the first journalists to join The Citizen. He was hired on September 1, 2004, two months after I came on board, to be precise.
So, being a business writer-cum-editor, I related very well to business and economy writers, including Zeph.
Looking back at my relatively short stint as the first Business Editor of The Citizen (2004–2006), I might as well blow my own trumpet and conclude that I was perhaps one of only a handful of business editors who presided over a team of highly dynamic, enthusiastic and enterprising business writers in the history of business reporting among English dailies in East Africa.
We had Zeph, who was very authoritative when it came to EAC and Great Lakes Region affairs; Richard Mgamba reporting from Mwanza on mining and fishing; Costantine Sebastian and Finnigan wa Simbeye specialising in corporate and economic news; statistician Hassan Mghenyi (RIP) with daily economic indicators and last but not least Damas Kanyabwoya and Imani Lwinga forming the “starting lineup”, if you like.
Some up-and-coming business journalists in the team included Samuel Kamndaya, Mnaku Mbani, Muganyizi Muta (RIP) and Dickson Amos Ng’hily.
I grew up on the job, appreciating Zeph’s journalistic acumen. After two years, I was promoted to serve as Managing Editor of The Citizen.
In reconstituting the team, I was tempted to commit the well-documented sin of giving him a raise and justifying it by making him an editor and moving him to Dar es Salaam. I thought he would receive it kwa mikono miwili. Wapii!
Zeph flatly refused and opted to remain a writer. I lost my proposition.
We managed to boost his compensation, but not to the level I wished him to enjoy and he worked as Bureau Chief for Arusha/Mwanza, something that gave him ample time to keep doing what he loved most – writing.
The surprising thing is that he was happy and even more committed.
Fast forward and I transitioned to leading the newsroom as MCL Executive Editor and later on as CEO.
Meanwhile, Zeph had retired, but he was not tired of writing.
So, it was just natural that the editors of the time would find it necessary to deploy their knowledge and expertise in continuing to produce the content that counts.
And as we all heard, at 70 years of age, the cruel hand of death snatched Zeph while he was doing what he loved with a passion – gathering news and writing!
My heart goes out to his widow, children, family, professional family and the East African Community, which has lost a committed journalist who covered the EAC extensively and exhaustively.
Go well, brother.
You left a mark, at least on my life as a journalist.
Bakari S. Machumu is the Managing Director of Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL)
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Inside Tanzania’s Life-Saving Birthcare Model
Tanzania is winning the battle against maternal and newborn deaths, as the latest numbers reveal a significant decline.
“Tanzania is committed to reducing maternal and newborn mortality and ensuring safe deliveries as part of the national development plan. The Safer Births Bundle of Care is one of the key strategies supporting this effort,” said Dr. Benjamin Kamala, the Senior Research Scientist at Haydom Lutheran Hospital and Principal Investigator for the program, leading its implementation across five regions in Tanzania.
A groundbreaking study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that the innovative health program in Tanzania – centered on regular, on-the-job training for healthcare workers – reduced maternal deaths by 75% and early newborn deaths by 40%. The three-year study, conducted across 30 high-burden healthcare facilities in Tanzania, tracked approximately 300,000 mother-baby pairs under the Safer Births Bundle of Care (SBBC) programme. The programme focuses on improving care for mothers and babies during the day of birth, the critical time when a woman goes into labor and delivers her baby.
Maternal health is a key focus of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically Target 3.1, which aims to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to fewer than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.
Tanzania’s program combines continuous, simulation-based training for frontline healthcare workers alongside innovative clinical tools to improve labour monitoring (fetal heart rate monitoring) and newborn resuscitation.It also uses data to drive ongoing improvements, ensuring that healthcare workers have the skills, confidence, and competence to manage birth-related complications for both mothers and newborns.
“We work closely with healthcare workers, equipping them with the necessary tools to improve the quality of care, ensuring they can effectively manage both mothers and babies during and after childbirth,” Dr. Kamala said, which helps them build on over a decade of innovative research and collaboration to improve care during childbirth.
“To give you a sense of the scale of the burden of maternal and newborn mortality in Tanzania when the Safer Births Bundles of Care program was in early development in 2015/16, there were around 556 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births and 25 neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births,” he said.
The published study demonstrates the “transformative impact” of the Safer Births Bundle of Care program conducted across 30 hospitals in five high-burden regions of Tanzania, where there were about 300,000 mother-baby pairs.
Maternal deaths at the start of the program were recorded at 240 per 100,000 live births, with postpartum hemorrhage and hypertensive disorders being the leading causes of death, he said. Over the 24-month study period, this number dropped to approximately 60 per 100,000 live births, representing a 75% reduction. The number of newborn deaths – which are primarily due to breathing difficulties and complications related to prematurity – declined by 40% – from 7 deaths per 1,000 live births to 4 deaths per 1,000 live births.
“These results are remarkable,” Dr. Kamala said.
According to Dr. Kamala, the 75% reduction in maternal deaths was not expected, and a key lesson was the important role of the in-situ team simulations – including for postpartum bleeding – with reflective debriefings that trained facilitators led.
“This seems to be a major part of the success of the program,” he said. “We are delighted by these results and hope that other countries adopt and scale the Safer Births Bundle of Care program… Beyond the numbers, the Safer Births Bundle of Care program has fostered a dramatic culture shift in our healthcare system,” he said. “Healthcare workers are now more confident and better equipped to handle birth-related complications for both mothers and babies.”
Maternal death drop
Dr. Kamala attributed the 60-70% reduction in newborn deaths in Geita and Manyara to several factors.
“Firstly, Manyara was the first site for implementation, giving the region more time to adapt and experience the impact of the program. Most importantly, both regions had a high burden of stillbirths and neonatal deaths, making them ideal targets for focused intervention. As a result, newborn deaths decreased by 60-70%, showcasing a clear positive impact on newborn survival,” he said.
Dr. Kamala said another possible explanation is the differences in the culture of practices, where some health facilities reported inaccurate data due to the fear of blame and shame. However, with the project’s implementation, reporting became more accurate after mplementation. Some regions, such as Tabora, reported an increase in the number of referrals to the study hospitals from other care centers after the program was implemented. These were more likely to be late admissions, which increase the likelihood of poor health outcomes, he said.
After the implementation of the program, there was a 40% decrease in newborn deaths within the first 24 hours after birth, according to the study.
Dr. Kamala said Tanzania’s remarkable progress in reducing maternal mortality by 80% is driven by strategic investments and innovative programs focused on improving maternal and child survival rates.
“Over 2,000 new healthcare facilities have been developed, free health services are being provided to expectant mothers and children under the age of five, and emergency obstetric care – including better transport to hospitals in rural areas are helping to ensure timely, life-saving interventions.
“Most importantly, the Ministry of Health works in collaboration with healthcare workers, hospitals, and development partners to strengthen the skills of frontline healthcare workers, which has been a key factor in driving this progress.
“Political leadership, alongside strategic partnerships and financing, has been crucial in driving progress in maternal and newborn health,” he said.
The program was made possible by the support of the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents, Norad, UNICEF, and Laerdal Global Health, as well as the Ministry of Health and Haydom Lutheran Hospital. Their partnership and investment enabled the scaling of the Safer Births Bundle of Care to 30 hospitals and supported the research. “The government has now scaled the program to over 150 sites, and there are plans for further expansion to three regions this year and then nationally,” he said.
Dr. Kamala outlined key policy recommendations for other governments can adopt to prioritize maternal health.
“Firstly, it focuses on cost-effective and relatively simple interventions that are essential to preventing maternal and newborn deaths. For example, stronger primary healthcare that is delivered in the community and a well-trained healthcare workforce are also critical. Additionally, working in close collaboration with national, regional, and local health authorities is key.”
He said Tanzania’s approach, where the Safer Births Bundle of Care program was successfully scaled and sustained by aligning the initiative with national guidelines for obstetrical and newborn care. In addition, the creation of mentorship programs and regular supervision has helped to sustain the results.
Looking ahead
Tanzania now plans to expand to three new regions in 2025, followed by a nationwide rollout.
The success of the program has attracted interest from other countries, with Botswana, Ethiopia, Lesotho, and Namibia expressing interest in adapting the program to their healthcare system. In Nigeria, the program has already been launched in two states, Gombe and Borno, marking a significant step in its scaling.
Source: allafrica.com
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