81297043 VB-Capacity Development for EmONC, Newborn Health and Family Planning in Tanzania

Improving Health Care in Tanzania II (IHC2) is the Technical Cooperation module of the German Development Cooperation in the health sector in Tanzania. It is commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for the period 04/2023 to 03/2026. It builds on experiences of the project Improving Mother and Child Health (IMCH, 2014-2018) and the first phase of the IHC (IHC1, 2019-2023). The predecessor projects developed an approach to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality, based on the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and job aids, training of HCWs, regular mentorships, clinical attachments, provision of essential medical equipment, training on primary equipment maintenance. Both projects contributed to reducing the case fatality rates for selected obstetric complications (IMCH: Lindi and Mtwara regions, IHC1: Mbeya and Tanga regions). They also contributed to reducing facility-based neonatal mortality (IMCH: Lindi and Mtwara; IHC: Mbeya). The IHC programme added capacity development in family planning services to the approach, contributing to an increase in the number of new family planning acceptors in Mbeya and Tanga. IHC2 will implement and further develop this approach. It targets Tanga region with 2.6 million people in 2022, of which about 590,000 live in poverty (23%). Potential beneficiaries are the estimated 730,000 women of reproductive age, of which 181,000 become pregnant each year and 226,000 are between 15 and 24 years. Direct beneficiaries are the 30,000 women who give birth and the 50,000 people who are using FP services every year in 20 selected health facilities. IHC2 will continue working in 8 facilities supported in IHC1 to secure sustained improvements and work in additional 12 new facilities. IHC2 will reach the target group through intermediaries who include health care workers and managers in the selected health facilities and health administrations, educators in school-based youth clubs, and community representatives involved in district and health facility budgeting. The module objective is: "Maternal sexual and reproductive health and newborn health are improved in selected project regions". Progress of the project is measured by the case-fatality rate due to selected obstetric complications, the institutional neonatal mortality rates, the number of couple-years-of protection (CYP) through contraceptives prescribed annually, and the inclusion of implementation experiences from Tanga in national strategies, guidelines, or manuals for service provision. The project has three thematic areas or Outputs: Emergency Obstetric Care and Newborn Health (Output 1); Family Planning (Output 2); Evidence-based Health Service Planning (Output 3). The objective of Output 1 is to improve the performance of selected health facilities in the management of selected obstetric and neonatal complications. The objective of Output 2 is to improve access to youth-friendly family planning services for young people. Lastly, the objective of Output 3 is to improve the quality of the health facilities' planning processes.