The project aims to improve the health and nutritional status of mothers, newborns, and children under the age of five. The project is designed to respond to the needs of mothers and children by promoting better use community health services, better household nutrition practices, and improved disease prevention and treatment measures with a focus on malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, and mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS. Specific activities include: training Ministry of Health workers in the improved design and delivery of maternal, newborn, and child health programs and services, and training health workers and community groups in the implementation of community education programs on nutrition, child feeding, and disease prevention. The project is expected to reach around 18,000 pregnant and lactating women and 159,000 children under five. World Vision Canada is working in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Tanzania to implement this project. This project is part of Canada’s Maternal, Newborn and Child Health commitment.
Final results achieved as of December 2014 include: (1) 243 regional, district and health facility managers trained in program management and program planning; (2) 648 program managers trained on new Health Management Information System (HMIS) tools; (3) ability of 426 front-line health workers improved to manage pregnancy, childbirth and common childhood illnesses; (4) quality of prenatal care improved by providing 66% of pregnant women with two doses of malaria preventive therapy, and 97% pregnant women with HIV counselling and screening; (5) health services for children improved by providing 99% of children with all three doses of diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus vaccines, and 98% children with life-saving vitamin A supplements; and (6) proportion of children under 2 years old who started breastfeeding within 30 minutes of birth increased from 50% to 90%. These results have contributed to improved health and nutrition of mothers, newborns and children under five years living in poor, rural communities in Iramba and Singida rural districts of Tanzania