Lucy Mphuru
Country director and project director, Tohara Plus
In Tanzania, over 1 million adults live with HIV and over 2 million children have been orphaned by the virus. The country also suffers from a severe shortage health workers—there are only three trained health professionals for every 10,000 people. This means that many who are HIV-positive go undiagnosed and untreated.
IntraHealth International’s $17.3 million Tanzania HIV Prevention Project addresses HIV and the health worker shortage by improving and increasing male circumcision services throughout the country. Voluntary medical male circumcision reduces the risk of HIV transmission in men by 60%.
Project Initiatives
- Expand comprehensive male circumcision services for HIV/AIDS prevention in Tanzania by training health workers to provide the services and by establishing mobile clinics and outreach campaigns to reach more men and boys.
- Increase access to high-quality HIV/AIDS testing and counseling services.
- With local partners and community members, increase awareness of HIV/AIDS testing and prevention methods, such as voluntary medical male circumcision.
- Strengthen referral systems to treatment and prevention services.
- Train health workers to screen for survivors of gender-based violence and refer victims to any specialized services they may need.
- Form innovative partnerships with local organizations and business to improve the health of Tanzanian communities and decrease HIV prevalence.
Regions
The Tanzania HIV Prevention Project works in the following regions of Tanzania:
- Arusha
- Kigoma
- Mwanza
- Geita
- Mara
- Shinyanga
- Simiyu
