Responding to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the Global Strategy for Women’s Children’s and Adolescent’s Health (2016 – 2030) a broad and bold roadmap for ending all preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths, including stillbirths was developed. While the Global strategy places women, children and adolescents at the core and heart of Sustainable Development Goals, it furthers thrives to unlocking their vast potential for transformative change. The Strategy takes pride in ending preventable deaths (Survive), ensuring health and well-being (Thrive) and expanding enabling environment so that all women, children and adolescents across the world can reach their full potential (Transform).

The Global Financing Facility (GFF) is head-on focused on prioritizing and scaling up evidence-driven investments to improve reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition through targeted strengthening of primary health care systems. Tanzania was among the four frontrunner countries[1] to implement GFF for strengthening primary healthcare program results with a focus on maternal, neonatal and child health services. On May 28^th 2015 the world bank approved the program and it became effective on November 5^th 2015. Tanzania used the One Plan II^[2] as the investment case to guide national RMNCAH priorities to be funded. From the investment case, GFF Program Appraisal Document was developed by the World Bank in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance in a rather limited consultation. The GFF’s Program Appraisal Document highlights implementation of GFF through the Program for Results (PforR) which was to support the Government’s primary health care (PHC) with a strong focus on a key government initiative, the Big Results Now in Health. Some achievements are summarized below:

Construction and renovations of nearly 308 CEmONC facilities across the country including in the eight (8) regions of GFF implementation. With the increase in demand for RMNCAH+N services, these health facilities stand to cover the ratio gap that has existed for years and serve to bring health facilities and services close to the clients who are the beneficiaries of RMNCAH services. Regional Medical officer in one of the benefited region exemplify this.

[1] Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria

[2] A National Roadmap Strategic Plan to Improve Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health in Tanzania (2016-2020)

Click here to learn more.