Storage facilities for health commodities in Tanzania are ranging from public to private in terms of ownership. There are numerous storage facilities for both the public and private sectors; however, the conditions, capacities, and availability vary considerably depending on the geographic area. The majority of the general storage facilities do not offer adequate storage conditions for medical supplies, especially for commodities with controlled-temperature and cold-chain requirements.

Both the public and private sectors use advanced warehouse management practices for central and regional warehouses dedicated to medical commodities. These facilities are concentrated mostly in urban areas.

About 20% of private sector storage facilities in urban areas are advanced warehouses with standardized containers, CCTV cameras, internal computerized systems, cold storage, and rooms with air-conditioning and ventilation. A lack of regulatory stewardship exists in the private sector and it is often not clear what can be stored under what conditions and for how long. Storage is expensive in the northern part of Tanzania in the Arusha region due to the limited availability of warehouses.

Commercial Storage

Some private suppliers have their own warehouses while others rent facilities. A non-exclusive list of warehouses is presented in the following table:

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified
[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat
[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair

Storage Used by Humanitarian Organizations

Major humanitarian organizations store their items in warehouses in a way that allows sufficient space for easy access to the stacks for inspecting, loading and unloading. For donated health commodities, public sector storage is used. In case of need of extra storage space in emergencies or in remote locations, WFP offers required storage tents to other humanitarian organizations. 

Most organizations prefer to run their own facilities rather than to contract out to a private service provider, due to the nature of their products such as food, medicines etc.

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified
[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat
[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair

Public Sector Storage

In most cases, health commodities handed over to the government of Tanzania are taken into custody by the Medical Stores Department (MSD) for storage and distribution.  MSD has 10 warehouses across the country in Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Iringa, Moshi, Mbeya, Tabora, Dodoma, Mtwara, Tanga and Muleba. The modern Warehouse—in—a Box (WiB) infrastructures with up-to-date working tools are available in six locations of Dar es salaam, Mwanza, Dodoma, Tabora, Mbeya and Tanga. The WiB are constructed using international standards and incorporate necessary supply chain storage infrastructure such as racks, cold chain, packaging unit using barcode system and office space.

The humanitarian community can have access to store their items in MSD storage facilities by communication through the Ministry of Health, Community, Development, Gender, Elderly and Children.

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified
[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat
[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair

Cold Chain

Dar es Salaam is the only airport with limited cold storage space (about 40 m³) for handling of medicines etc. MSD has about 1000 m³ cold chain storage space countrywide.

The government-led Central Vaccine storage has the following capacity; 550 m³ of temperature level 0-8 degrees Celsius; 52 m³ of freezers with temperature level 0-8 degrees celsius; 282 m³ of WiB cold room freezers with temperature level 0-8 degrees celsius; 120 m³ of central chillers with temperature level 18-26 degrees Celsius.