EngenderHealth Launches UK-Supported Family Planning Programme with Tanzanian Government
March 13, 2020 (Washington, DC; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)—EngenderHealth launched the Scaling Up Family Planning Programme in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, working with the United Republic of Tanzania and the generous support of UK-AID.
The Scaling Up Family Planning Programme will work alongside the Tanzania Ministry of Health and the President’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG) to enhance the capacity of the national health systems to deliver inclusive family planning services to 2.3 million Tanzanians in eight regions across the mainland (Tanga, Dar es Salaam, Pwani, Dodoma, Arusha, Morogoro, Kilimanjaro, and Geita) and the five regions of Zanzibar (Zanzibar Central/South, Zanzibar North, Zanzibar Urban/West, Pemba North, and Pemba South).
The Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly, and Children, Hon. Ummy Mwalimu, said: “The Ministry is looking forward to working with EngenderHealth and its partners in the provision of inclusive and integrated reproductive health services to meet the national goals and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Family planning remains one of the key interventions in the country for improving women’s health and reducing maternal and child mortality.”
The five-year programme will strengthen the available capacity to provide integrated sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning, postabortion care, and gender-based violence. Key interventions include training public healthcare providers on the provisioning of various family planning methods; enhancing the provision of comprehensive postabortion care services and counselling by training healthcare workers using national guidelines; supporting training of service providers on gender-transformative approaches and the integration of gender-based violence clinical services into family planning services; as well as supporting health facilities to allocate sufficient resources for reproductive health services.
“EngenderHealth will continue to partner with the government to ensure women, girls, men, and boys have access to inclusive reproductive health services,” said Country Representative for EngenderHealth Tanzania, Prudence Masako. “This project is an important component of ensuring that healthcare service providers are well positioned to serve clients with regard to their sexual and reproductive health, in support of national guidelines and strategies.”
EngenderHealth has partnered with Pathfinder International, DKT International, and Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT) to ensure that the Scaling Up Family Planning Programme reaches Tanzania’s most vulnerable and at-risk populations—particularly young people and people living with disabilities. The programme will utilize various models to support the provision of outreach services to a wider population.
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About EngenderHealth
EngenderHealth is committed to creating transformative, sustainable change by delivering high-quality sexual, reproductive, and maternal health services; expanding access to information and training; and advancing acceptance of sexual and reproductive rights as human rights. To achieve this vision, EngenderHealth collaborates with governments, private sector partners, international experts, and local organizations and communities around the world to deliver programs that give girls and women freedom to reach their full potentials.