The Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) is stepping up efforts to reduce new HIV infections by expanding prevention services, strengthening community outreach and targeting young people and other groups considered more vulnerable to infection.
The measures are part of Tanzania’s wider push to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, with the government placing greater emphasis on prevention, early testing, treatment and stronger collaboration across sectors.
Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Policy, Parliament, Coordination and Persons with Disabilities), Prof Palamagamba Kabudi, said the government was strengthening HIV interventions by mobilising domestic resources, bringing services closer to communities and expanding programmes targeting young people.
Prof Kabudi made the remarks on August 20, 2026, during a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and HIV/AIDS in Dodoma, which received a report on HIV infections among young people and strategies to reduce new infections in the group.
He said technology should be used more effectively to improve access to HIV information and services, particularly for young people living in rural areas.
The minister also called for HIV education to be expanded to places where young people gather, including entertainment venues, music halls and youth conferences.
The approach, he said, was necessary to ensure prevention messages reach people where they live, work and socialise.
The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and HIV/AIDS, Dr Johannes Lumbulung Lukumay, commended the Prime Minister’s Office for coordinating the national HIV response and supporting implementation of prevention programmes.
Dr Lukumay said greater investment was needed in areas with high HIV infection rates, particularly among young people.
He also urged authorities to strengthen HIV education and voluntary testing in workplaces and the transport sector, with particular attention to long-distance truck drivers.
“It is important to continue building the capacity of young people in regions with high infection rates and coordinate HIV education and voluntary testing at workplaces and within the transport sector, particularly among long-distance truck drivers,” Dr Lukumay said.
He further commended the government for programmes aimed at reducing new infections, including the third phase of the TIMIZA Malengo initiative, which uses the message “Tusonge na Samia Kutokomeza UKIMWI.”
The programme encourages people to know their HIV status, seek treatment when necessary and take steps to protect themselves and others from new infections.
Members of the parliamentary committee also acknowledged government efforts to ensure continued availability of antiretroviral medicines (ARVs).
ARVs help people living with HIV maintain good health by suppressing the virus. When treatment is taken effectively and the virus becomes undetectable, the risk of sexual transmission is effectively eliminated.
Responding to issues raised by the committee, TACAIDS Executive Director Dr Adam Mrisho said the commission had developed targeted measures to ensure HIV prevention and treatment services reach communities, particularly young people.
“The commission is committed to ensuring that HIV education continues to reach communities, encouraging people to test and promoting the use of medicines among those diagnosed with HIV, while also strengthening cooperation with the private sector,” Dr Mrisho said.
One of the measures is the training and strengthening of about 90,000 community-level service providers to deliver HIV prevention education and self-testing services.
The initiative is expected to improve access to information and testing among young people in rural communities, where distance and limited access to health facilities can make it difficult for some people to obtain services.
TACAIDS is also strengthening 32 knowledge centres across the country. The centres provide HIV prevention education, testing and access to ARVs, while targeting groups such as young people and long-distance truck drivers.
The expanded approach is aimed at making HIV services easier to access, encouraging more people to test early and improving treatment uptake.
For citizens, health officials say the message remains clear: knowing one’s HIV status, accessing treatment early and taking preventive measures are critical to reducing new infections and helping Tanzania move closer to its 2030 goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat.
