Tanzania is an East African country situated just south of the Equator. Tanzania is surrounded by many lakes, Lake Victoria to the north, Lake Nyasa to the south and southwest, Lake Tanganyika to the west and by the Indian Ocean to the east.
Tanzania has been spared the internal strife that has blighted many African states but domestic stability has not translated into economic prosperity for Tanzanians with 67.9% of the population living below the official poverty line. Many of its people live below the world bank poverty line. Most people rely on small-scale farming in rural areas, but around 35% of the population do not have enough food to eat.

Population
57.31 million
Global Food security index score
Considers the core issues of affordability availability and quality across 113 countries where 1 is the top scoring country. 98/113
Percentage of people who lack access to safe drinking water
50%
Percentage of people who do not have access to improved sanitation, such as toilets or latrines
66%
Prevalence of undernourishment
32%
Number of primary aged children out of school
An estimated 2 million children between the ages of 7 and 13 years are out of school.
Child malnutrition
42% of children under five in Tanzania suffer from chronic malnutrition and 16 percent are underweight
Signpost started working in Tanzania in 2019 when we partnered alongside the Vine Trust and the African inland church Tanzania to address water-related health concerns in the Island communities of Lake Victoria.
WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is one of Signpost’s four strands of work and Tanzania is in crisis when it comes to Water and Sanitation. Only 57% of Tanzania’s population of 57 million have access to safe water, and only 30% of Tanzania’s population have access to improved sanitation.
Tanzania is surrounded by many large lakes which offer an abundance of water but many of the lakes including Lake Victoria are polluted due to the inadequate infrastructure of sewage and water systems.
For most people on the islands, water for drinking, cooking and cleaning is only accessible from the heavily contaminated lake water. Though there is knowledge of waterborne illnesses, without the resources to treat the water, community members are often left with little option but to use it. As a result, there is a high prevalence of waterborne illness recorded as a direct consumption of contaminated water sources.
We hope that our WASH projects will implement the provision of water-treatment solutions to island households improving water, sanitation and hygiene.
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Find out more about our four areas of work which all harness the power of education enabling people to reach their potential and build a better future.
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All News- 16th December 2022
Could you come and join the team?
We are looking for a Desk Officer to support our partner organisations to develop, deliver, and evaluate a range of community development programmes in East Africa. As Overseas Desk Officer you will work with a portfolio of programmes, partnerships, and donors, ensuring each project is aligned with stakeholder and funder…
Read more - 15th December 2022
Merry Christmas from Signpost International
Signpost International would like to wish all of our supporters and partners a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. We hope you have a lovely time over Christmas and new year! The Signpost International office will close at 12:30pm on Thursday 22nd December 2022 and will re-open at…
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We are recruiting for an Education and Community Worker
Education and Community Worker£20,810–21,552 (per annum pro rata)21 hours per week (0.6FTE) with possibility of extending to 0.8FTE We are seeking an enthusiastic individual to deliver our local sustainable education and community–based programmes to a broad range of people, while providing essential support to our ongoing foodprojects. This is…
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