Contraception
The National Family Planning Guidelines and Standards of 2013, issued by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, make all men and women, including young people aged 10 to 24, eligible for family planning information and services irrespective of parity and marital status. No verbal or written consent is required from a parent, guardian or spouse, except for people with severe mental disabilities and for clients choosing a permanent method, who must consent in writing. Only methods registered by the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority and approved by the Ministry may be made available, in the public and the private sector alike.
The approved list is male and female condoms, combined pills (Microgynon), progestin-only pills (Microval), emergency contraception, the injectable DMPA, the implants Jadelle and Implanon, the copper T 380A intrauterine device, tubal ligation, vasectomy, the lactational amenorrhoea method and the standard days method. In all public facilities, including at community level, methods and services are free; private facilities with a government agreement supply free methods too, except socially marketed products, and elsewhere a small fee is charged. Services are to be offered at every level of the health system, in pharmacies and drug shops and in the community. Eligibility follows the WHO medical eligibility criteria, a history is mandatory but routine physical examination is not unless a method requires it, and pelvic examinations are compulsory for the intrauterine device and tubal ligation. Clients' information may not be shared with third parties without their consent.
The 2022 Demographic and Health Survey found that 38% of married women aged 15 to 49 use some method of family planning and 31% a modern one, led by implants (14%) and injectables (9%), up from 7% in 1991-92. Among sexually active unmarried women 45% use a method and 36% a modern one. Modern use among married women is 32% on the Mainland and 17% on Zanzibar, and by region runs from 9% in Simiyu and Kaskazini Unguja to 56% in Njombe. Of modern-method users 78% obtain them from public facilities, and 21% of married women and 32% of sexually active unmarried women have an unmet need. On deciding to use or not to use family planning, 85% of married women say they decide alone (31%) or jointly with their partner (54%). The same survey found that 22% of women aged 15 to 19 have ever been pregnant.
The government's costed plan for 2019 to 2023 expected modern use among married women to rise from 36% in 2019 to 47% by 2023 and among all women from 30% to 40%; the 2022 survey measured 31% among married women. Its starting point was the One Plan II (2016-2020), which already aimed at 47% among married women.
Key points
| Legal basis | Ministry of Health guidelines (National Family Planning Guidelines and Standards, 2013), not a statute |
|---|---|
| Eligibility | All men and women, including young people aged 10 to 24, irrespective of parity and marital status |
| Consent | No parent, guardian or spouse consent; written consent from the client for permanent methods |
| Approved methods | Condoms, pills, emergency contraception, DMPA, implants, copper IUD, tubal ligation, vasectomy, LAM, SDM (Table 5 of the Guidelines) |
| Price at public facilities | Free, including community-level services |
| Modern method use, married women | 31% in 2022 (Mainland 32%, Zanzibar 17%) |
| Unmet need | 21% of married women; 32% of sexually active unmarried women (2022) |
| Source of modern methods | 78% public sector; dispensaries 46%, health centres 17% (2022) |
| Plan target | 47% modern use among married women by 2023 (NFPCIP 2019-2023) |
In practice
- Go to any public dispensary, health centre or hospital: methods and services are free and the Guidelines say no parent, guardian or spouse needs to give consent, whatever the client's age or marital status.
- Expect counselling on the whole range of methods before a choice is made, and a history and eligibility screening based on the WHO criteria; a pelvic examination is compulsory only for the intrauterine device and tubal ligation.
- For tubal ligation or vasectomy, sign a written consent yourself: it is the one case in which the Guidelines require written consent from the client, apart from people with severe mental disabilities.
- Pharmacies and accredited drug-dispensing outlets also serve clients: the 2022 survey found 6% of modern-method users getting them from pharmacies and 5% from accredited drug-dispensing outlets, and only 19% of male condoms coming from the public sector.
Cost and coverage
Methods and services are free at all public facilities, including community distribution; in a private facility without a government agreement a small fee is charged for the product and the consultation, and the 2013 text gives no amounts.
Recent changes
The 2022 TDHS-MIS puts modern-method use among married women at 31%, compared with the 47% set for 2023 in the national costed plan.
Where to go
- Public dispensaries, health centres and hospitals, which supply 78% of modern methods (TDHS-MIS 2022).
- Pharmacies and accredited drug-dispensing outlets (ADDOs) for condoms and other methods allowed at that level (Guidelines, section 12).
- The Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority, which registers the products, and the Ministry of Health, which approves them for public use (Guidelines, section 9).
Worth knowing
The consent and age rules here come from the 2013 edition of the Guidelines; a version dated January 2022 is listed on the same policy repository but was not opened for this page, so check it before relying on a point of detail.
Frequently asked questions
Can a girl under 18 get contraception without her parents' consent?
The 2013 Guidelines say no parental or spousal consent is needed to give family planning information and services regardless of age or marital status, and they make everyone aged 10 to 24 eligible; the exceptions are severe mental disability and permanent methods.
Does a husband have to agree before his wife uses contraception?
No: the Guidelines require no spousal consent. In the 2022 survey 85% of married women said they decide alone (31%) or jointly with their partner (54%).
Is contraception free in Tanzania?
In all public facilities, including community distribution, family planning methods and services are free under section 11 of the Guidelines; private providers outside a government agreement charge for the product and consultation.
Sources
- Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, National Family Planning Guidelines and Standards (2013) — sections 1 to 3, 6, 9, 11 and 12 and Table 5: eligibility, consent, approved methods, fees and service levels
- 2022 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey and Malaria Indicator Survey -- Summary Report (NBS and OCGS with The DHS Program) — 2022 TDHS-MIS summary report, pp. 6 and 7: family planning use, sources, unmet need, decision making, teenage pregnancy
- Ministry of Health, National Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan (NFPCIP) 2019-2023 — national targets for modern contraceptive prevalence 2019 to 2023
The general article: Contraception · Compare with another country
Abortion
On the Mainland the Penal Code makes procuring a miscarriage an offence (14 years for the person who does it, 7 for a woman acting on herself, 3 for supplying the means: ss. 150 to 152) and expressly protects only acts done to preserve the mother's life (ss. 219(2) and 230); commentators disagree on whether the woman's health is covered.
| Attempt to procure a miscarriage | Imprisonment for 14 years, for any person (Penal Code, s. 150) |
|---|---|
| Woman procuring her own miscarriage | Imprisonment for 7 years, including permitting it to be done (s. 151) |
| Supplying the means | Imprisonment for 3 years, if the supplier knows the purpose (s. 152) |
Full detail: Abortion
Drugs and controlled substances
The Drug Control and Enforcement Act, Cap. 95 (Act No. 5 of 2015, amended in 2017, 2021 and 2022; Revised Edition 2023) applies to Mainland Tanzania and, for its offences and investigation rules, also to the conduct abroad of citizens and residents (s. 1). It lists cannabis, cannabis resin and extracts and tinctures of cannabis among the narcotic drugs in its First Schedule, defines 'prohibited plants' as the cannabis plant, khat, coca and opium poppy (s. 2) and sets up the Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA) to define, coordinate and implement drug-control measures, including arrest, search and seizure (ss. 3 and 4). Zanzibar has a separate statute, the Zanzibar Drugs Control and Enforcement Authority Act, No. 8 of 2021.
The Act defines trafficking widely: it includes importing, exporting, buying, selling, giving, supplying, storing, possessing, producing and conveying (s. 2). Trafficking more than 200 g of a narcotic drug or psychotropic substance, or more than 100 kg of cannabis or khat, carries life imprisonment (s. 15); trafficking those amounts or less carries imprisonment of not less than thirty years (s. 16). Cultivating, possessing or dealing in a prohibited plant also carries not less than thirty years, and 'cultivation' includes gathering (s. 11). Possessing equipment or a laboratory for making drugs carries life imprisonment and a fine of at least TSh 200 million (s. 17), financing trafficking life imprisonment and a fine of at least TSh one billion (s. 24), and administering a drug or putting it in food or drink without the consumer's knowledge a fine of at least TSh 50 million or at least thirty years, with a thirty-year minimum if it happens in or near a school or to a person under 18 (s. 21). A second or later conviction brings a fine of TSh 10 million or life imprisonment (s. 27), and an offence with no stated penalty a fine of TSh 5 million to 50 million or five to thirty years (s. 28).
Personal use is treated separately. Possessing a small quantity intended for personal consumption, or consuming, carries a fine of at least TSh 1 million or five years for cocaine, morphine, diacetylmorphine and substances the Minister lists by notice, and a fine of at least TSh 500,000 or three years for the others (s. 18(1)); the burden of proving that a small quantity was for personal use lies on the accused (s. 18(2)), and the quantity is set by the Minister's regulations (s. 18(3)), which were not found for this page. Smoking, injecting or otherwise using a drug, being found without lawful excuse in a place used for drug use, or possessing a pipe for use, carries a fine of at least TSh 1 million or three years (s. 19). An owner or occupier who allows premises to be used faces a fine of at least TSh 5 million or at least three years (s. 20). Bail is barred for trafficking of 20 kg or more of cannabis or khat, or 20 g or more of heroin, cocaine and similar drugs, and for charges under ss. 17, 21 or 24 (s. 30).
A court that convicts someone under s. 19 of using a drug may, on a medical expert's written report and with the person's consent, postpone sentence and release a drug addict for detoxification, but not where violence, a weapon, a gang, a quantity beyond an addict's personal use or a role in organising others is present (s. 32). The Government may set up centres for treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration (s. 69). The DCEA's own site, in Kiswahili, lists treatment centres and recovery (sober) houses among its services and gives a toll-free line, 119, and a head office at P.O. Box 80327, Dar es Salaam. Its news headlines include a seizure of 22.6 tonnes of drugs (item of 2 July 2026) and 603 acres of cannabis farms destroyed (item of 18 August 2026). On 1 September 2026 the Attorney General told Parliament that a Miscellaneous Laws (Amendments) Bill, 2026 would make possessing the seeds of any prohibited plant an offence regardless of intended use and would recognise narcotic drugs in both solid and liquid forms.
On Zanzibar the Zanzibar Drug Control and Enforcement Authority announced on 22 April 2024 that, relying on s. 73(1) of its Act No. 8 of 2021, it had confiscated suspected traffickers' assets valued at TSh 15.3 billion in Unguja, among them six cars, eight plots and three villas, with a right to challenge the decision in court within 30 days. A bill gazetted on 23 January 2024 for first reading from 14 February 2024 would add a minimum of thirty years to ss. 19, 21, 22 and 30 of that Act and replace s. 23(1) with a fine of TSh 3 million to 5 million or one year for small quantities of named drugs and TSh 1 million to 3 million or one year for others; whether it was passed was not established. The Mainland and Zanzibar penalties should not be assumed to be the same.
Key points
| Cannabis in the schedules | Cannabis, cannabis resin, extracts and tinctures are narcotic drugs in the First Schedule (Cap. 95) |
|---|---|
| Cultivating or possessing a prohibited plant | Not less than 30 years; 'cultivation' includes gathering (s. 11) |
| Trafficking, large | Life imprisonment above 200 g of a narcotic drug or above 100 kg of cannabis or khat (s. 15) |
| Trafficking, smaller | Not less than 30 years at or below those amounts (s. 16) |
| Small quantity for personal use | Fine of at least TSh 500,000 or 3 years; at least TSh 1 million or 5 years for cocaine, morphine and listed drugs (s. 18) |
| Using or found in a place of use | Fine of at least TSh 1 million or 3 years (s. 19) |
| Allowing premises to be used | Fine of at least TSh 5 million or at least 3 years (s. 20) |
| No bail | Trafficking of 20 kg or more of cannabis or khat, or 20 g or more of heroin, cocaine and similar drugs (s. 30(1)) |
| Second or later offence | Fine of TSh 10 million or life imprisonment (s. 27) |
| Zanzibar | Separate Act, No. 8 of 2021; the Mainland Act applies to Mainland Tanzania (s. 1(2)) |
In practice
- Check that any prescription for a controlled medicine is genuine and recent: selling or supplying on a prescription known to be forged, unlawfully obtained or issued more than six months earlier attracts a fine of at least TSh 50 million or at least thirty years (s. 21(1)(c)).
- A landlord, host or manager who learns that premises are used for preparing, selling or using drugs must stop it, since the owner, occupier or manager who permits it faces a fine of at least TSh 5 million or at least three years unless a relevant authority has issued a permit (s. 20).
- A person charged with a drug offence that is bailable may ask for bail on the conditions of s. 151 of the Criminal Procedure Act (s. 30(3)); where the weight or type of substance is disputed, the Government Analyst's finding prevails (s. 30(2)).
- For treatment, the DCEA lists treatment centres and recovery houses and operates a toll-free line, 119; a court may also direct detoxification for an addict convicted of using a drug (s. 32).
- Travellers and residents should note that the Act's offence and investigation provisions also reach conduct abroad by citizens and residents, and the supply of drugs to a person on the Mainland from outside (s. 1(3)).
Recent changes
On 1 September 2026 the Attorney General presented a Miscellaneous Laws (Amendments) Bill, 2026 that would make possession of the seeds of any prohibited plant an offence regardless of the intended use; whether Parliament has enacted it was not established.
Where to go
- Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA), Mainland: P.O. Box 80327, Dar es Salaam; toll-free line 119; online report form on dcea.go.tz.
- On Zanzibar, the Zanzibar Drug Control and Enforcement Authority, which applies Act No. 8 of 2021.
- Any court trying a drug charge; the Government Analyst's report determines weight and type of substance (s. 30(2)).
Worth knowing
The Mainland Act leaves the amount of a 'small quantity' to ministerial regulations (s. 18(3)) that were not found, and the burden of proving personal use is on the accused (s. 18(2)); because 'trafficking' is defined to include storing and possessing (s. 2), possession that falls outside personal use may be charged under s. 16, which starts at thirty years' imprisonment.
Frequently asked questions
Is cannabis legal in Tanzania?
No: cannabis is a narcotic drug in the First Schedule of the Drug Control and Enforcement Act, cultivating the plant carries not less than 30 years (s. 11), trafficking more than 100 kg carries life imprisonment (s. 15) and smaller quantities not less than 30 years (s. 16), and the Act's rules for personal use are set out in s. 18.
What is the penalty for personal possession of a small quantity?
A fine of at least TSh 500,000 or imprisonment for three years, or at least TSh 1 million or five years for cocaine, morphine, diacetylmorphine and substances the Minister lists (s. 18(1)); the accused must prove the quantity was for personal consumption (s. 18(2)).
Are the drug laws the same on Zanzibar?
No: Cap. 95 applies to Mainland Tanzania (s. 1(2)), while Zanzibar enforces its Drugs Control and Enforcement Authority Act, No. 8 of 2021, which a 2024 bill proposed to amend with thirty-year minimum terms and a different small-quantity fine.
Sources
- Drug Control and Enforcement Act, Cap. 95, Revised Edition 2023 (Attorney General's Office, official revised text) — ss. 1 to 4, 11 to 21, 24, 27 to 32, 69 and the First Schedule, Revised Edition 2023
- Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA), official website -- contacts and news items (opened 12 October 2026) — contacts, toll-free line 119, treatment services and the dated news items of 2026
- allAfrica / Daily News, "Tanzanian proposes amendments to the Drugs Control and Enforcement Act" (2 September 2026) — Miscellaneous Laws (Amendments) Bill, 2026, presented on 1 September 2026
- The Citizen, "Zanzibar confiscates drug traffickers' assets valued at Sh15.3 billion" (22 April 2024) — 22 April 2024: Zanzibar authority's confiscation under s. 73(1) of Act No. 8 of 2021
- Zanzibar Government Gazette, bill supplement vol. CXXXIII no. 7209 of 23 January 2024: bill for the Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendment) Act, 2024, Part Three (Zanzibar Drugs Control and Enforcement Authority Act, No. 8 of 2021) — January 2024 bill amending Zanzibar's Act No. 8 of 2021: ss. 2, 16, 19, 21, 22, 23 and 30
The general article: Drugs and controlled substances · Compare with another country