Press Releases
U.S Government Supports Legal Aid Provision to Improve Access to Justice
April 16, 2007
A workshop for Legal Aid Providers from the Southern Corridor will commence on Tuesday, April 17, at the Lutheran Hall in Mtwara. Mr. Henry Shekifu, the Mtwara Regional Commissioner will officiate over the opening ceremony. The workshop is supported by the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Threshold Program through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Legal Aid Providers Training is part of a broader MCA/USAID Improving Access to Justice initiative that is being implemented in Tanzania by Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF). The purpose of this initiative is to bring together legal aid networks to assist citizens of Tanzania who cannot afford the services of private advocates. Lacking legal assistance, Tanzanians are frequently subjected to delayed dispensation of justice.
The Improving Access to Justice program’s main message is: Corruption will be beaten when all Tanzanians have access to justice and the means to hold the government accountable.
More than 30 legal aid providers from Mtwara and Lindi will benefit from this three-day workshop designed to make them more effective providers of legal aid. Participants will gain knowledge of ethics for legal aid providers, challenges and strategies, and how to prevent corruption within the legal aid process.
WiLDAF Tanzania National Coordinator Judith Odunga noted that the program seeks to build a vibrant network of human rights organizations capable of providing legal aid to a majority of the underprivileged. So far, with support from MCA-Threshold and USAID, more than 50 legal aid providers have been trained and three new legal aid clinics have been established in three regions.