Ophthalmology in Tanzania.

Abstract

The United Republic of Tanzania, including the islands of Pemba and Zanzibar, is situated on the East African coast, south of Kenya and north of Mozambique. The population is derived from more than 100 different ethnic (tribal) groups and is estimated at 23 million people, approximately one tenth that of the United States. Tanzania has an area of almost 1 million km 2 . The geography consists of 800 km of coastline, rising to a central savannah plateau of 1000 to 1500 m. The western edge of the rift valley forms Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawi, and the southern part of Lake Victoria in the east of the country, producing borders with Malawi, Zaire, and Uganda. The Livingstone mountains rise more than 2000 m in the south, and Mount Kilimanjaro at 5400 m is the highest mountain in Africa, at Moshi in the north of the country. Tanzania gained independence in 1961;