Introduction: Finally the Government of Tanzania has ordered all LGA to ensure they allocate funds for Family Planning in their budget beginning financial year 2015/16. This was reached in a joint meeting between MoH and FP stakeholders in Dodoma in May 2014. For many years, family planning (FP) allocations in Tanzania were made at the central government. The highest allocations made from the central government budget were in 2014/15 which was just 10% of needed (2 Billion Tshs against an estimated need of 20 Billion Tshs).

The process: HDT and other Family Planning partners (Advance Family Planning (AFP) project, Pathfinder International and Engender-Health) worked direct and successfully with Local Government Authorities (LGA) to allocate funds for Family Planning. Albeit this endeavor was successful, it was neither sustainable nor did it reach all LGAs in the country. Using the National Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan (NFPCIP), partners proposed a minimum package for Family Planning interventions at LGA. This was harmonized with the PlanRep, the budgeting software for LGA. This was followed by advocacy sessions with Ministry of Health and Development Partners, to raise a unified voice on need for fund allocation at LGA level that will complement national level resources which mainly focus on commodities and supervision. READ MORE