A critical indicator of the well-being of children is the under-five mortality rate. Since independence, Tanzania has made great strides in improving child health. In 1960, its under-five mortality rate was 241 per 1,000 live births; by 2002, it had fallen to 165. Of the 193 countries for which UNICEF provided under-five mortality rates, Tanzania had the world's 24th-highest under-five mortality rate. Tanzania had the world's 6th-highest number of maternal deaths during the year 2000.

During the 1990s however, there was no substantial progress in reducing infant and under-five mortality. There are even indications of slight increases in recent years, likely related to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

According to the U.N. Population Division:

"In the late 1990s, the cumulative impact of HIV/AIDS, the influx of Rwandan refugees, the burden of debt servicing and deteriorating socio-economic conditions resulted in a general deterioration of the sexual and reproductive health of women and adolescents. Illegal abortion and maternal mortality as a result of complications from abortion are reportedly on the rise."

Abortion legislation in Tanzania is based on the English Offences Against the Person Act of 1861 and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act of 1929. Under the Revised Penal Code of Tanzania (chapter 16, sections 150-152), the performance of abortions is generally prohibited. An abortion may be performed to save the life of a pregnant woman. In addition, Tanzania, as do a number of Commonwealth countries whose legal systems are based on English common law, follows the holding of the 1938 English Rex v. Bourne decision in determining whether an abortion performed for health reasons is lawful; the decision set a precedent for future abortion cases performed on the grounds of preserving the pregnant woman's physical and mental health.

Although abortion is restricted by law, there is overwhelming evidence that it is widely practiced. The government has expressed concern about the high incidence of illegal abortion because of its effect on maternal morbidity and mortality. Studies show that illegal abortion is one of the major causes of maternal mortality. A study conducted in the Southern Highlands in 1983 estimated that 17 percent of maternal deaths were directly associated with abortion. Another study carried out in the Kilimanjaro region suggested that about 21 percent of maternal deaths were related to abortion. In a study undertaken in 1987 at Muhimbili Medical Center, the teaching hospital in Dar es Salaam, it was determined that in a random sample of 300 women admitted to the hospital for early pregnancy loss, 31 percent had had an induced abortion.

In April 2007, government and political leaders met in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, for the first-ever assembly of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. More than 300 delegates from 120 partner countries met to take urgent action in reducing mother and child mortality. More than two-thirds of newborn deaths could be prevented. Tanzania is currently among the top five that have a 30 percent reduction in infant and under-five mortality rates.¹

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1 UNICEF Unite for Children. Global partners meet in Tanzania to discuss maternal, newborn and child health.