WAMATA is a Tanzanian

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

that works with people affected by

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. It runs Tanzania's oldest clinic for HIV. The acronym stands for the

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...

phrase "Walio Katika Mapambano Na AIDS Tanzania" which means "People in the fight against AIDS in Tanzania".

History

WAMATA was founded in June 1989 by a small group of Tanzanian professionals and families to assist individuals living with HIV/AIDS diagnoses. Theresa Kaijage led the organization while head of social work and family therapy at Muhimbili Medical Centre and as a lecturer at the Social Welfare Training Institute. She fundraised and secured voluntary help, eventually managing to obtain a small office space in the Catholic Brothers of Christian Institution. It was there that she began offering counsel and support to victims of HIV/AIDS through WAMATA. WAMATA was officially registered as a non-government organisation on 21 March 1990. In 1992 another branch was inaugurated in Rubya/

Bukoba Bukoba is a city with a population of 144,938 (2022 census), situated in the northwest of Tanzania on the south-western shores of Lake Victoria. It is the capital of the Kagera region, and the administrative seat for Bukoba Urban District. The ...

(western lakeside of

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...

) for the

Kagera Region Kagera Region (''Mkoa wa Kagera'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 Regions of Tanzania, administrative regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the land area of the Netherlands. Kagera Reg ...

. Another branch was inaugurated in

Mwanza Mwanza City, also known as Rock City to the residents, is a port city and capital of Mwanza Region on the southern shore of Lake Victoria in north-western Tanzania. With an urban population of 1,104,521 and a population of 3,699,872 in the region ...

(southern lakeside of Lake Victoria) for the lake zone in the same year. The two branches are operating independently. WAMATA collaborates with the National AIDS Control Program (NACP).

References

External links

Official site
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071005000433/http://www.wamata-tz.org/index.htm , date=2007-10-05 * http://www.detaf.de/downloads/Infoblatt_WAMATA_eng.pdf Medical and health organisations based in Tanzania Organizations established in 1989 1980s establishments in Tanzania