40 years of development cooperation between Belgium and Tanzania

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the development partnership between Belgium and Tanzania, the Belgian Development Cooperation Team highlights the impact of the many projects it develops and finances.

In 2024, we celebrate 40 years of development cooperation between Belgium and Tanzania. To underline the importance of this cooperation, the Belgian Development Cooperation Team, composed of the Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, the Belgian development agency Enabel and the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), is visiting Tanzania during a joint mission from 11 to 15 November.

Thanks to an extensive programme, the various aspects of Belgian development cooperation in Tanzania will be highlighted. Belgium and Tanzania, together with local, European and international partners, work hand in hand to improve the living conditions of Tanzanians.

In the Kigoma region, Enabel ensures that young girls can enjoy quality education in a protective and gender-equal school environment, thanks to the Wezesha Binti (Empower the Girl) collaborative programme.

The Water and Sanitation Kigoma Region Project (WaSKiRP) provides local people in the region with access to drinking water and sanitation, thanks to the construction and rehabilitation of water infrastructures and the training of local water committees, which deal with proper water management. More than 129,000 Tanzanians, spread over thousands of villages, are helped on a daily basis.

In Kigoma, we also cooperate with the World Food Programme and UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. The many refugees living in Nyarugusu camp are joining forces with the local communities to repair the environmental damage caused by their presence.

At the European level, we contribute to the Global Gateway project Trade and Transport Facilitation, which makes the port of Dar es Salaam and the associated transport systems more efficient, greener and safer. This ensures that trade can be conducted more smoothly and that transport is done in a sustainable manner.

BIO also finances a number of great projects in Tanzania. For example, there is the partnership with EA Foods, a Tanzanian food aggregator and distribution company, which uses digital solutions to connect more than 7,000 smallholder farmers with the different markets and provide them with training. Another company, ASA Tanzania, offers microloans to female entrepreneurs. More than 201,000 women receive loans of an average of $216 to develop their projects.

Since Belgium works closely together in Tanzania with a number of United Nations agencies and programmes, as well as international financial institutions, a number of meetings are also planned with them. These include UNICEF (children), UNDP (development cooperation), UNFPA (sexual and reproductive health), the World Bank (loans to countries to combat poverty), the International Monetary Fund (IMF – loans to distressed countries) and the African Development Bank (AfDB – promotion of investment in social and economic development projects). The aim is to strengthen cooperation in order to achieve more synergies and thus defend Belgian interests.

Thanks to a good cooperation with the Tanzanian government and the local population, the Belgian Development Cooperation Team in Tanzania has been contributing to improving the living conditions of Tanzanians every day for 40 years. Belgium hereby renews its partnership to assist Tanzania for as long as it is deemed necessary.