Visiting U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris should urge the Tanzanian government to respect the right to health. As Vice President Harris travels to Tanzania this week, the government is cutting off vital health services in Ngorongoro district under a “voluntary” resettlement plan for local residents. Framed as wildlife conservation, these actions violate the health rights of the semi‑nomadic Maasai pastoralist community and directly interfere with their ability to continue living in an area they have managed for 200 years.
In March 2022, Tanzania transferred funding for basic services—including health and education—in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, to another district about 600 kilometers away. Earlier, in February 2022, the government grounded Flying Medical Services, a medical outreach provider, and in October announced that the area’s main hospital would be downgraded to a clinic with a significant staff reduction. The government has justified these steps as conservation measures aimed at expanding wildlife viewing and hunting areas while restricting human settlement.
Ngorongoro residents told Human Rights Watch that the government’s actions have severely limited access to health care, especially for pregnant women and mothers with young children. Comprehensive health care for women and girls is essential for advancing equality, empowerment, and the realization of human rights, but it must be genuinely accessible.
As Vice President Harris seeks to strengthen U.S. relationships with African nations, her visit offers an opportunity to highlight the connection between rights‑respecting policies—on land, health, and women’s rights—and shared security and economic prosperity. The United States is a key development and health‑care partner of Tanzania, and Vice President Harris should place human rights at the core of the U.S.–Tanzania relationship. During her trip, she should urge Tanzanian officials to end the abusive policies in Ngorongoro district and protect the Maasai community’s right to health, recognizing it as a fundamental pillar of shared economic prosperity.
— Oryem Nyeko, Researcher, Africa Division
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