TWO senior members of the Elders Foundation, a group of independent former leaders founded by ex-South African President Nelson Mandela to work for peace, justice and human rights, will visit Tanzania next week to campaign for Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Mary Robinson, the former President of
Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Graça
Machel, former Education Minister of Mozambique and a global advocate
for health and women’s rights, will be in Tanzania from 13 to 14 July,
to meet political leaders, civil society organisations and health
professionals.
According to the Elders Foundation Head
of Communications, who visited the country last month, the two members
of the foundation will visit health facilities in Dar es Salaam and
Dodoma and meet the minister for Health, Community Development, Gender,
the Elderly and Children, Ummy Mwalimu.
The Elders believe that access to health
care is a fundamental human right and is the best way to achieve the
health sustainable development goal. It is also crucial to ensuring
women, girls and adolescents have a fair chance in life.
All world leaders have signed up to
Universal Health Coverage as part of the UN Sustainable Development
Goals but now need to show political courage and determination to make
it a reality.
Tanzania is a country that is already
making progress in improving access to health care, and where reaching
UHC is an achievable goal with the necessary political will.
As part of their pro gramme, Mary Graça
will visit a government dispensary to see for themselves the situation
at the grassroots and hear from health workers, patients and other
community members, according to a statement from the Elders Foundation.
On 14 July, they will convene a panel
discussion in Dar-es-Salaam that will involve civil societies and media
representatives who will have an ample time to ask questions on various
issues.
Later this month, the foundation is expected to mark its 10th anniversary in Cape Town, South Africa.
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