USAID Afya Endelevu
Tanzania is faced with a chronic shortage of Human Resource for Health (HRH) in the health sector that has undermined the achievement of national strategic health goals, including HIV epidemic control. In the Human Resource for Health Strategy (2020-2025) and Health Sector Strategic Plan V (2020-2025) the Government of Tanzania reported the HRH shortage at 52% in all cadres especially in remote areas that have up to 70 percent shortages. This is due to planning priorities, budgetary constraints, lack of qualified staff, and attrition rates among the health workforces.
Contributing to the need; the Benjamin Mkapa Foundation (BMF) is implementing a five-year (2020-2025) USAID Afya Endelevu (“Sustainable Health”)Activity which supports the Government of Tanzania to address HRH gaps at the national, regional, and local government levels.
The purpose of the Afya Endelevu Activity is to develop and implement sustainable approaches to address HRH recruitment, deployment, and management to support delivery of quality health services including HIV, TB Reproductive, Maternal and Child health services, epidemic threats control and facilitates effective transitioning of contracted health care workers into the Government of Tanzania’s HRH system.
In a small scale, the Activity also supports emergency short-term hiring and allocation of critical in need healthcare workers to respond to emerging public health pandemic and threats like Corona Virus Disease 19 (COVID-19) both in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar.
The Activity HRH support to Tanzania’s government uses specific workload indicators and unmet service delivery needs for evidence-driven HRH needs identification, recruitment, orientation, training, and supervision. In addition, the recipient supports key HRH policy actions and advocacy agendas that present more sustainable solutions for PEPFAR HIV, TB and reproductive, maternal and child health programs.
ACTIVITY LOCATIONS
Iringa, Njombe, Morogoro, Lindi, Mtwara, Ruvuma, Arusha, Dodoma, Singida, Manyara, Kilimajaro, Mara, Geita, Kigoma, Mwanza, Simiyu Mbeya, DaresSalaam, Katavi, Songwe, Rukwa, Pwani and Zanzibar Islands
The Activity objectives include:
1. Support the allocation and deployment of the appropriate type and number of qualified healthcare workers at the facility and community levels for quality preventive, care and treatment services for USAID supported HIV, MCH, TB and other related public health programs
2. Strengthen the alignment of PEPFAR human resources for health support with Government of Tanzania HRH policies, practices, and guidelines.
3. Support Government of Tanzania HRH leadership and management systems through effective advocacy and implementation of policy action with critical stakeholders.
- Allocate1,654health care workers under fixed term contract and volunteerism scheme to 118 Local Government Authorities across 22 regions in Mainland and Zanzibar with HIV (11 regions), Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health (4 regions), TB Programs (7 regions) and COVID-19 Emergency response.
- Develop contracted health care workers transitional plan and establish a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Tanzania for transitioning contracted healthcare workers into public service.
- About 70 percent of eligible contracted health care workers transitioned into Tanzanian government public health facilities.
- Establish an inventory that routinely maps the number and type of health care workers supported through HIV (PEPFAR) as well as MCH and TB programs in Tanzania.
- Support to the Ministry of Health and PORALG on implementation of key HRH policies and establishment of additional
cadres that are critical to the delivery of Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health, HIV and TB services.