Source: Tanzania Daily News
WITH a Doctor of Medicine Degree from the University of Dar es Salaam, and a PhD in Human and Environmental Studies from Kyoto University, Japan, Dr Marina Njelekela stands out as one of the most successful women in Tanzania, in terms of achievements.

Last year she was appointed as Muhimbili National Hospital Executive Director, and before that, Dr Njelekela was a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Physiology at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS). In a special interview with staff writer Anthony Tambwe, Dr Njelekela talks about her challenges, and the implementation of her new programme dubbed 'Kinara ni Mimi Jasiri', read on.

When most Tanzanians hear of the name Dr Marina Njelekela, they associate it with the Medical Women Association of Tanzania (MEWATA), how is that?

This is because I led MEWATA for six years. During the two terms as a MEWATA leader, I was in the forefront of health awareness among women and the general public, especially on Breast Cancer Awareness and Screening Campaigns that were conducted in Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Mbeya, Mtwara, Lindi, Dodoma, and Manyara. And I am indeed very proud to know that those campaigns helped a lot of women and in the process saved their lives, because more than 63,000 women were reached.

That is a very impressive number, and out of these, how many were found to have breast cancer?

A total 152 women were diagnosed as having breast cancer, but because it was discovered in its early stages, they received treatment and counselling. Out of this number, 3000 women were found with lumps in their breasts, but initial screening showed that they were not cancerous, and they were treated and discharged.

Maybe just in short, how did MEWATA come up, what motivated you towards this noble venture?

Most of us received our education from the government free of charge. For example I did my 'O' level studies at Ndanda Secondary School in Mtwara region. Therefore as a group of women doctors, we felt that we should give back to the society, and that is what was behind the real motivation.

You are currently the Tanzanian Women of Achievement Awards Gender Champion, an award you received last year, but you are also the recipient of the prestigious Martin Luther King Drum Major Award for Justice, which was bestowed on you by the US Embassy in January 2010 for your efforts to improve women's access to health care services, which brings us to the programme 'Kinara ni Mimi Jasiri'.

The programme promotes young girls empowerment in Mtwara, Iringa and Lindi, who are facing challenges to overcome early pregnancies, early marriages, school dropouts, STD's and HIV/AIDS infections. The project will focus on creating awareness, sensitizing the communities and creating a peer system that will empower girls with skills and knowledge needed to overcome these challenges and lead productive, educative and healthy lives. Women need to support the dreams and aspirations of other women. We must use today to reflect on what we are doing in our various positions and capacities to reach out to other women and help them realize their full potential.

You talk about empowering the girl into making better judgments, how bad is the situation in Tanzania?

In 2008/2009, Tanzania recorded 8,000 cases of girls dropping out of school, and out of this number 10 per cent was due to pregnancies. Teen pregnancy continues to cause serious health, social and economic problems on girls especially in the rural areas where they rarely get an opportunity to learn about reproductive health and gender issues.

This account for up to 40 per cent of maternal deaths in some African countries and 20 per cent of this in Tanzania is caused by septic abortions. So there is a great need for intervention especially through awareness creation, community sensitization and peer system strengthening through role modelling which is still uncommon concept.

So when is this programme supposed to kick off?

We are expecting to officially start on the 1st of May this year, and as I said earlier, we will cover those three regions through school visits, formal lectures and the media. The programme will run for one year, until the next Gender Champion is selected, and we hope that she will carry on the implementation of the programme. We expect to deal with the health aspects of the girls, but we call on various stake holders in the country to come up and take care of the economic empowerment.

When you talk of economic empowerment, what exactly are you referring to?

In this programme of 'Kinara ni Mimi Jasiri', we expect to reach girls who in or out of school. Therefore it becomes different if you deal with out of school girls, who after reaching them, there should be a solution for their financial needs. If you talk to them about abstaining, you should also try and solve their financial problems, because most of these girls are involved in sexual affairs because of poverty.

• Tanzania