THE 1ST PROJECT TO SUPPORT FORMAL CHWS RECRUITMENT AND DEPLOYMENT IN TANZANIA LAUNCHED!

The new project through AMREF Health Africa under Irish Aid support, namely TUWATUMIE, which engages the Benjamin Mkapa Foundation (BMF) to manage recruitment and deployment of formal CHWs has successfully been launched on July 12, 2018 in Itilima, Simiyu region.  The Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Hon. Ummy Mwalimu who was the Guest of Honor for the event, applauded this continuous support from development partners on strengthening primary health care service delivery and community health and well-being. In her speech, Hon. Ummy Mwalimu stressed the importance of investing on community based health programs that are geared towards enhancing health prevention and promotion whilst remaining committed to balance curative and prevention services in the Health care service delivery.

The Guest of Honor, Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Hon. Ummy Mwalimu greeting officials who attended the event.

“I call for development partners to continue supporting the community health based interventions which are critical if we want to succeed reaching the Universal Health coverage” she added. Honorable Ummy Mwalimu insisted that “The trained and formal CHWs will be deployed and located in their indigenous localities/ Districts and will not come from another district thus allow them to be culturally sensitive and able to communicate easily with the communities. Thus it is expected the community and village leaders will work and monitor them closely in collaboration with the health facilities leadership”

During the event, Dr Ellen Mkondya Senkoro, the Mkapa Foundation’s CEO, further applauded the upcoming strong and strategic partnership with Amref in this newly launched Project- TUWATUMIE, which will reach the grassroots levels and facilitate womens, men, children and youth health. “Each agency is bringing in its value addition to this project given the experiences and competencies gained in field of public health”, says Dr. Ellen.

Mkapa Foundation with its vast and bold complementary practice and experiences in recruitment and deployment of more than 1000 skilled health workers within the country, has extended an innovation toward this   project. The Foundation will work in close collaboration with the Local Government Authorities on the deployment and utilization of 215 CHWs   at Itilima district (Simiyu region) and Misungwi district (Mwanza region). The deployment of these CHWs will be on contract basis and lessons learnt will be well document to further inform the policy and decision makers as well as stakeholders of Health sector.

Dr Ellen Mkondya Senkoro, the Benjamin William Mkapa Foundation CEO, giving the remarks during the Launching Event.

Dr Ellen Mkondya Senkoro, The Mkapa Foundation CEO, appreciated the unique partnership of government, whereas through such partnership, Mkapa Foundation has been awarded several projects which have benefited millions of Tanzanians including Simiyu Region. She further thanked BMF’s trusted and longtime financing partner, Irish Aid that apart from this innovative project on CHWs, has been financially supporting the noble programme of the Foundation, the Mkapa Fellows Programme. She reiterated the unwavering  commitment of BMF to strengthen rural health services as evidenced in Simiyu Region which have already in the past, benefited from 48 and 3 newly constructed health workers houses and theatres, respectively.

TUWATUMIE Project is expected to be a model and similar model will be applied in all other upcoming CHWs deployment initiatives led by the Government and Partners.

CHWs from Itilima District singing to the Guest of Honor, Hon. Ummy Mwalimu during the Launching Event.

Further, the recruitment and the deployment of CHWs will adhere to the National Community Based Health Program of 2017 (CBHP), National Community Based Health Program Strategic Plan of 2015 – 2020, CBHP implementation design and all other authentication related national guidelines.