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ABCT is cooperating with many stakeholders who have an interest in bringing the issues of HIV and Aids into the world of work. A long-term relationship has been established with TACAIDS, the coordinating body of Tanzania’s governmental response to HIV/Aids. TACAIDS has acknowledged the role of ABCT as being the official representative of the private sector in terms of HIV and Aids. TACAIDS is also the official channel for funding that comes from the Tanzanian Government and collaborates with ABCT on common goals through workshops and trainings.

Also USAID is a very crucial partner for ABCT. USAID has in the past funded the salaries of the core staff and partly taken over the operational costs. The funding from USAID was channeled through Capacity Project, who also provided ABCT with some funding for training programs, IEC-materials and alike.

Besides these long-term partners, ABCT will strive to increase the cooperation with the following partners in future:

Engender Health/Champion

Champion (Channeling Men’s Positive Involvement in the National HIV/Aids Response) is a five-year project of EngenderHealth-Tanzania under PEPFAR funding. The goal of champion is to promote a national dialogue about gender roles, increase gender equitable believes and behaviors and, in doing so, reduce the vulnerability of men, women and children to HIV/Aids and other adverse reproductive health outcomes. The concept of men as facilitators of family health is a central organizing idea of Champion. Champion will promote programs, policies and research that positively engage men to address some of the most important public health problems facing Tanzania.  

EngenderHealth has been seeking ABCT’s cooperation, as well as the Association of Tanzanian Employers (ATE) and the Trade Union Council of Tanzania (TUCTA) to strengthen and ensure effective and sustainable workplace programs. EngenderHealth is the prime grant recipient and administrative lead partner. MOUs have been signed with each partner.

The advantage for ABCT lies in the participation and sharing of the concept of male involvement. “Gender” has for a long time been perceived as the promotion of women only. Champion has tapped on global resources that have developed approaches and programs that include the male perspective. For effective interventions at the workplace and in the communities, the inclusion of both sexes is a requirement. ABCT will therefore benefit from the cooperation in gaining the skills and expertise to approach men at the workplace. The renewed gender-approach will be successively included into the documents and policies of ABCT. (www.engenderhealth.org)

Egmont Trust

Egmont Trust is a UK-registered charitable trust and works currently with app. 50 partner organizations in southern and eastern Africa - in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Egmont Trust was established in February 2005 with a central focus on improving the lives of children affected by HIV and AIDS. It works through partner organizations in southern and eastern Africa to address a wide range of HIV-related issues faced by children including tackling abuse and sexual violence; improving nutrition and food security; promoting education and life skills; and ensuring access to good quality care and treatment.

ABCT is in close relationship with Egmont Trust in terms of home gardening and nutritional support programs for infected and affected employees and family members of member organizations. To be in the position to link up interested member organizations with Egmont is one of the comparative advantages of ABCT. Wakulima Tea Company for example has a very successful program on home gardening and nutritional support funded by Egmont Trust. The outcomes demonstrate clearly the benefits of an improved nutritional status of infected people. The CD-4 counts are raising and the overall health status of the participants is improving visibly. (www.egmonttrust.org)

GTZ

The German Technical Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit, GTZ) is by far the most reliable cooperation partner of ABCT. GTZ was involved in the setting-up of ABCT and is continuously supplying financial assistance and technical support to ABCT. The integrated expert at ABCT has been sent by CIM (Center for International Migration and Development) which is a program by GTZ and the German Ministry for Works. GTZ supplies the CIM-expert also with a duty car to fulfill his tasks.

GTZ cooperates with ABCT as the implementer of Private Public Partnership Projects that GTZ is currently pursuing with Tanzanian Companies. ABCT is providing the trainings for Peer Educators and HIV/Aids Coordinators and is giving technical advice and assistance to the companies for the implementation of the WPP. For these activities ABCT receives a share of 7.5% for administration and office expenditures, which contributes substantially to the income of ABCT. (www.gtz.de/en/)

TACAIDS

The Tanzanian Commission for Aids (TACAIDS) is the coordinating, advocacy and monitoring body of the national response to Aids. TACAIDS was first established by the announcement made by the President on 1 December 2000. The other step taken to establish TACAIDS was by the enactment of a law establishing Tanzania Commission for AIDS, Act No. 22 of 2001 by the Parliament. These steps were taken to ensure that the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania has an institution that is legally mandated to provide strategic leadership and to coordinate and strengthen efforts of all stakeholders involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. TACAIDS provides strategic leadership for a national multi-sectoral response to HIV/AIDS leading to the reduction of further infectious associated diseases and the adverse socio-economic affect of the epidemic. It coordinates the implementation of the National Multi-sectoral Response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

TACAIDS has officially recognized ABCT as the private sector’s representation in terms of HIV/Aids. Therefore TACAIDS and ABCT have close relationships and a continuous exchange with each other. TACAIDS is also channeling the government’s support of the fight against HIV and Aids in terms of financial contributions. (www.tacaids.go.tz)

TCCIA

The Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) was established 15 years ago, in 1988. It was initiated with the support of the Tanzanian Government to strengthen the private sector. The establishment of the TCCIA was a step in moving on from a centralized, planned economy towards a more open, mixed economy giving full scope to privately owned enterprises and farms. Today, TCCIA represents the private business sector throughout Tanzania.

TCCIA has opened regional offices in all 20 regions of mainland Tanzania and over 60 district centers, which are autonomous in their operational activities. Assistance by Swedish governmental development agency SIDA has played a vital role in establishment of the regional and district Chambers especially in providing training, office equipment and mobilization/sensitization of the business community.

These autonomous TCCIA Chambers in 20 regions of the country link the private sector to the Government with a view toward promoting the development of private enterprises. By linking issues central to business, the Chamber serves an arena where dialogue with the government serves to promote sustained growth and development of the private sector. All 20 Regional Chambers are non-profit, with nominal membership fees for its members. TCCIA is currently having slightly over 5000 members.

Services provided by TCCIA to the business community include business information, training, advocacy, business supportive initiative (i.e. processing business license) and business promotion activities, for instance, trade fairs and missions. TCCIA has for example expertise in many areas of interest to local businesses for their development. It can then offer these skills and information in the form of Seminars, Workshops and Trainings in a number of fields. All these are related to the business activities of the member companies. Therefore the demands of the companies direct the work of the Chamber. Trade promotion is encouraged through participation and representation in national and international Trade Fairs and international delegations.

ABCT has joined cooperation with TCCIA. In 5 regional offices of TCCIA (Tanga, Mtwara/Lindi, Mwanza, Arusha and Morogoro) ABCT is represented as well by staff from TCCIA who have been entrusted with the local representation of ABCT and the task of being a regional advisor. On behalf of ABCT they contact potential member companies and advise in technical questions. ABCT has trained these regional advisors and maintains close contacts to its representatives. Though these regional representatives from ABCT actually are employed by TCCIA, ABCT is topping up their salary for these additional duties and also ABCT contributes to the office rent. (www.tccia.com)

USAID

U.S. foreign assistance has the twofold purpose of furthering America's foreign policy interests in expanding democracy and free markets while improving the lives of the citizens of the developing world. Spending less than one-half of 1 percent of the federal budget, USAID works around the world to achieve these goals. USAID's history goes back to the Marshall Plan reconstruction of Europe after World War Two and the Truman Administration's Point Four Program. In 1961, the Foreign Assistance Act was signed into law and USAID was created by executive order. Since that time, USAID has been the principal U.S. agency to extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms. USAID is an independent federal government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. It supports long-term and equitable economic growth and advances U.S. foreign policy objectives by supporting: economic growth, agriculture and trade; global health; and democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., USAID has also field offices around the world. It works in close partnership with private voluntary organizations, indigenous organizations, universities, American businesses, international agencies, other governments, and other U.S. government agencies. USAID has working relationships with more than 3,500 American companies and over 300 U.S.-based private voluntary organizations. (www.usaid.gov/)