Switzerland’s support to media is based on the belief that a flourishing media sector is crucial for a strong democratic state. The support through TMF has reached hundreds of journalists and numerous media houses. This has led to a wide coverage of issues of public interest. A journalist working for the Tanzania Daima newspaper, Dixon Busagaga, covered a story of industrial pollution of Karanga River in Moshi Region. The Karanga river is used as a source of water by a large number of communities in the region. People living in the area were worried about the dwindling acquatic life and some expressed having developed itchy rashes after exposure to supposedly contaminated water. The coverage led to an investigation of the issue by the relevant basin water board. 

Switzerland’s support to media also complements SDC’s interventions in health and agriculture. For example, local journalists in Makete District revealed that the District Council did not redis­tribute TZS 60 million worth of Community Health Fund (CHF) contributions to local health centres. CHF is a voluntary community-based prepayment scheme for financing health care in districts and municipalities. After the story was aired, steps were taken to redistribute the funds. The coverage also helped boost people’s un­derstanding of CHF and as a result, there was an increase in enrolment in the insurance scheme. Switzerland supports the health insurance initiative through the Health Promotion and System Strengthening project. 

SDC and TMF signed the contract extension in February this year.