Sophie visits Tanzania and delivers message from King

The Duchess of Edinburgh is visiting Tanzania to celebrate collaboration between the UK and the African nation on health, agriculture and women’s empowerment.

Sophie delivered a message from the King during a reception on Tuesday evening.

The duchess, global ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), is visiting Dar es Salaam, and will move on to Zanzibar and Arusha this week to see the work of international organisations Sightsavers, Uniting to Combat neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and the Alliance of Bioversity and International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

She will meet the president of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, and the president of Zanzibar, Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi, as well as healthcare providers and members of local communities.

On the first day of her visit, Sophie visited Magomeni Health Centre in Dar es Salaam, a primary health facility offering essential sexual health and family planning services.

She later visited the Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Protection Unit, meeting investigators, prosecutors and social welfare practitioners to hear about efforts to tackle child abuse in Tanzania and the care given to victims.

During a reception on Tuesday evening celebrating health collaboration, the duchess delivered a speech recognising progress made in Tanzania to rid the country of trachoma – an infectious and blinding eye disease – and the work still to be done.

Sophie set an ambition for the elimination of trachoma across the Commonwealth by 2030 and delivered a message from the King commending the efforts.

The message said: “As patron of one of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness’s members, Sightsavers, and knowing that the Duchess of Edinburgh is with you today in Tanzania, I particularly wanted you all to know how full of admiration and gratitude I am for your passion and devoted efforts in treating and preventing neglected tropical diseases, especially trachoma.

“Your constant dedication and hard work will lead us to a world where inclusion and equality can be realised across our Commonwealth.

“I send you all my warmest good wishes and heartfelt encouragement for the much-needed success of your gathering.”

In Zanzibar, the duchess will observe the efforts of the Ministry of Health, Uniting to Combat NTDs and Unlimit Health to combat lymphatic filariasis (LF), including a celebration of the 12 billionth Albendazole drug treatment for the disease.

At the end of the week, in Arusha, Sophie will learn about collaborative work between the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and visit female Tanzanian farmers to see how women are being empowered through science and entrepreneurial opportunities in agriculture and food systems.

She will also celebrate the launch of the UK’s new horticulture export accelerator programme, developed in collaboration with the Tanzania Horticultural Association, which will help Tanzanian businesses working with the UK’s developing countries trading scheme.