Project profile — Uzazi Uzima II: Safe Deliveries in Simiyu Region

• Tanzania (100.00%)

• Health, General: Health policy and administrative management (12110) (10.00%)
• Basic Health: Basic health care (12220) (20.00%)
• Reproductive health care:
Reproductive health care (13020) (25.00%)
Family planning (13030) (10.00%)
Personnel development for population and reproductive health (13081) (35.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (principal objective)
• Youth Issues (significant objective)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Nutrition (significant objective)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

The Uzazi Uzima II project seeks to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity in all five districts of Simiyu region, Tanzania by improving the availability of quality adolescent, maternal and newborn health services in underserved districts through three mutually supportive mechanisms. The project will: improve the knowledge and skills of healthcare providers on maternal, newborn and sexual/reproductive health to ensure they can provide critical services to their beneficiaries in a gender sensitive and responsive way; improve the infrastructure and supply-chain for health facilities to encourage women, girls and their families to use services; and improve gender responsive health management systems (such as planning, prioritization and management of services). The project will also increase awareness and understanding of sexual, reproductive, maternal and child health with special focus on men’s participation in reproductive, maternal and newborn health and decision making. Project activities include: (1) training health workers from four health centres and 24 dispensaries on: essential maternal and newborn health skills, such as Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (BEmONC); Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC), family planning; nutrition counselling; and newborn resuscitation; (2) refurbishing four health centres and 24 dispensaries to provide CEmONC, BEmONC, water, sanitation and hygiene and family planning services, including a satellite safe blood center at the regional hospital; (3) equipping targeted health facilities with the necessary stocks of equipment and commodities to provide BEmONC, CEmONC, family planning and safe blood services; (4) establishing a referral system for maternal and newborn health care and family planning services across all tiers of the health system; (5) training and supporting Ministry of Health and facility-based managers, and health workers to improve community to facility linkages (enhanced data collection, consolidation, analysis and reporting); and (6) training and equipping community health workers, traditional birth attendants, traditional healers, and local leaders to provide community-level health promotion services (including maternal and newborn health, water, sanitation and hygiene, family planning, nutrition, gender issues and use of mobile health technology to mobilize communities). The project is implemented in collaboration with Amref Health Africa in Tanzania, Marie Stopes Tanzania and Deloitte.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved availability of quality maternal and newborn health services in underserved districts; and (2) increased utilization of maternal and newborn health services by women and their families in targeted districts in Tanzania.

Results achieved as of the end of the project (March 2022) include: (1) trained 60 health care workers in maternal and perinatal death surveillance review (30 women and 30 men); (2) trained 60 health care workers in essential newborn care (30 women and 30 men); (3) trained 55 health care workers in integrated management of childhood illness (39 women; 16 men); (4) trained 60 health care workers in basic emergency obstetric and newborn care (30 women; 30 men); (5) trained 12 health care workers in comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care (6 women and 6 men); (6) trained 55 health care workers in comprehensive post-abortion care (35 women; 20 men); (7) trained 60 health care workers on the kangaroo mother care method (35 women; 25 men); (8) the outreach team provided 59,806 clients (51,643 women; 8,163 men) with integrated services. These services included: 31,671 immunizations; 666 detection and treatment of sexually transmitted infections; 4,488 antenatal care; 12,911 cervical cancer screening; 5,828 provider-initiated testing and counselling; and 2,407 support for survivors of gender-based violence; (9) built 15 maternity wards, four operating theatres and five youth-friendly corners; (10) constructed or refurbished and equipped 19 health facilities to perform basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care; (11) installed 10 boreholes, 20 elevated water tanks, and 11 solar submersible pumps in targeted health facilities as part of the WASH infrastructure; (12) trained 800 community health workers on gender and age-responsive reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, WASH, nutrition, and data collection and reporting (400 women and 400 men); (13) sensitized 1,584,157 community members on the health service charter on their rights, roles, and responsibilities to access reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, WASH and nutrition services activities; (14) reached 43,746 (40,652 women; 3,094 men) family planning clients with both short-term and long-acting and reversible contraceptives; and (15) trained 10,993 (2,352 health facility supervisors, 8,565 community health workers, and 76 regional and district trainers) in ten regions of Tanzania. The training focused on guidelines for reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health in the COVID-19 environment and effective promotion of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.

• Proactive disclosure