Public and private sector organizations have been urged to make people’s wellness at work one of key priorities in their operational and investment strategic plans.

Dr Sophia Byanaku, Founder and Managing Director Bloom Wellness, made the call last Friday in Dar es Salaam during the launch of Tanzania Wellness Week (TWW) 2025.

Dr Byanaku said that TWW is a national initiative organized in collaboration by Bloom Wellness and the Health Ministry.

She said although there is a day and month to celebrate wellness around the world, Tanzania has never had an official platform to celebrate this important initiative for human health.

She asserted that many health-related initiatives are focused on non-communicable diseases, HIV/AIDS, nutrition, Malaria, TB and mental health disorders.

She said Bloom Wellness has been implementing wellness programs for government entities and private companies.

“Despite sensitization on this initiative, there has been difficulty for companies and public organizations to agree to the implementation of wellness programs for their employers,” she said.

According to her, many organizations and companies have been questioning the return on investments if they effectively implement wellness programs.

Dr Byanaku argued that the lack of data on wellness at the place of work hinders the establishment of specific policies and thus leads employers to not allocate budgets for wellness-related matters.

“We are going to build a national foundation that confirms that wellness is an important component of economic development. Physical, mental and social well-being is the basis for combating NCDs,” she said.

She affirmed that NCDs such as diabetes, hypertension and others contribute to 33 percent of all deaths in Tanzania as stipulated in the National Health Survey 2022 by the Ministry of Health.

She argued that the World Health Organization (WHO) report 2021 shows that one in four people in Tanzania face major challenges affecting their mental health in their lives, while health services remain inadequate.

She further clarified that WHO states that for every $1 invested to address mental health problems, its return on investment stands at $4, justifying the essence of organizations to invest in wellness.

“Companies with wellness programs reduce medical costs by up to 26 percent, while employee absenteeism is reduced by 28 percent,” she said.

In that case, she said, TWW is organized with several main goals including: Increasing awareness about the importance of body, mind and community wellness.

It aims to encourage public organizations and private companies to invest in employee wellness as a strategy to increase productivity, efficiency, improve workplace relationships and reduce mental fatigue.

Another goal is to encourage the implementation of policies related to the Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG3 which promotes good health and well-being.

“We also aim to encourage the government and the private sector to collect and use data related to people’s wellness to enable accurate decision-making and development planning that is evidence-based,” she clarified.

Grace Msemwa, Health Communication and Community Social Behavior Change Specialist, Ministry of Health said that Bloom Wellness has been an innovative company in pushing the wellness agenda forward.

“The government believes in collaboration with various stakeholders in achieving the well-being of citizens through various sectors. Well-being is the foundation of people’s development through a healthy workforce,” she said.