«Muddled messaging around COVID-19 complicates response in Tanzania», this is the title of devex’s article about the Corona situation in Tanzania on 21 July 2020.
Since the beginning of the epidemic in Tanzania, some health measures have been taken nationwide: the government closed schools and banned mass gatherings at weddings and funerals, but a full economic lockdown was not implemented.
Since April 29, 2020, Tanzania’s only public coronavirus testing laboratory has been closed and infection figures are no longer updated. Tanzania has not reported a new case of COVID-19 to WHO for three months – the longest reporting gap of any country in Africa.
This has created a complicated environment for many organisations focusing on health and hygiene awareness, and it is currently difficult to provide information to communities on how to deal with the pandemic. The situation is unclear to the population.
In poorer areas, people cannot afford to close their shops or not go to the market. Meatu, the region where bioRe cotton is grown, is considered a poorer area. For 94% of the population, agriculture is the basis of their livelihood.
Marco Paul, Co-CEO bioRe® Tanzania Ltd. confirms: “The situation in Tanzania is calm, to what extent Covid-19 exists is not known.
In the villages and towns there are no washing buckets and no soaps on the markets. People do not use disinfectants or protective materials in their daily activities. It is difficult to convince people to implement protective measures for the risks of Covid-19″.
Therefore, bioRe® Tanzania is also faced with the challenge to procure protective materials and implement protective measures accordingly.
The bioRe® Foundation has already been able to provide support in this regard through a fundraising campaign. At the beginning of the corona crisis the office and training centre of bioRe® Tanzania Ltd. could arm itself with facilities for improved hygiene, e.g. a bucket washing facility for washing hands:
The women’s groups in the sewing studios of the bioRe® Foundation Tanzania produced reusable protective masks for the farming families. Justina Samson, confirmed by the bioRe® Foundation Tanzania: “Currently no orders for sewing masks are received by the sewing groups.
The purchase of the organic cotton has now been in progress for five weeks. It is a challenging season. The originally very high harvest expectations seem to be somewhat relativized. The concerns of the farmers have been reduced by the fact that Remei AG will fulfil the purchase guarantee for bioRe® cotton – even during the current corona crisis.