IntraHealth International launched its newest independent, country-based affiliate last month in Tanzania. The new local entity, called Afya Plus, will partner with the government of Tanzania, local civil society, and the private sector to improve the quality and accessibility of Tanzania’s health care system.

There is great need in Tanzania for broader access to a variety of health services, including reproductive health and family planning; maternal, neonatal, and child health; care for victims of gender-based violence; malaria prevention and treatment; and HIV prevention and treatment. Today about 1.4 million Tanzanians live with HIV, or 5.3% of adults. More than half of those infected are women, and 91,000 are children.

A shortage of health workers exacerbates the country’s HIV epidemic and limits Tanzanians’ access to care, especially in rural and hard-to-reach areas.

Since 2006, IntraHealth has partnered with the government of Tanzania to expand HIV services, prevent new infections, and train additional health workers and deploy them where they’re needed most. The new Afya Plus will work with its partners to:

• Increase the number of trained, high-performing health workers in rural and hard-to-reach areas, using evidence-based interventions to attract and retain members of the health workforce.
• Incorporate gender into all its work in order to promote gender equity and equal opportunities for all.
• Conduct research to inform new policies and government decision-making.
• Support the government of Tanzania to strengthen the country’s health systems and respond to challenges with sustainable solutions.
• Apply innovations and technology to increase the scope and effectiveness of interventions.
• Design, implement, and evaluate health care services that affect the health and well-being of communities.
• Mobilize resources through innovative approaches to finance health care programs.  

Read more about IntraHealth in Tanzania.

IntraHealth’s work in Tanzania is funded by PEPFAR/US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US Agency for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, PEPFAR/ Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the Department for International Development.