Tanzania

ABSTRACT German International Development Cooperation commissioned a needs assessment in Tanzania between March and July 2021 to identify BACKUP Health technical support areas to strengthen the country’s health systems. On 16 September 2021, BACKUP Health, in collaboration with the Tanzania National Coordinating Mechanism, organized a stakeholder workshop to validate the key results and recommendations of the needs assessment. The workshop participants, some of which attended face-to-face while others virtually, were government officials, representatives of bilateral and multilateral organizations, and civil society.

ABSTRACT Truck drivers who transport cargo across borders in the East African Community partners are at high risk of contracting and transmitting the COVID-19. The truck drivers are also at a higher risk of HIV infection.

ABSTRACT The German Agency for International Cooperation's GIZ BACKUP Health initiative and the Global Fund led a training session for three countries in March 2020, to strengthen their in-country capacity to leverage health sector investments to build resilient and sustainable systems for health. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of robust health systems.

ABSTRACT The Country Coordinating Mechanism evolution initiative is at mid-point. Information from four African countries suggests mixed results: two countries with early signs of success and two where it is too early to measure success, country representatives say. Aidspan’s policy team highlights the challenges and keys to success discussed with representatives from each of the four countries featured in this article.

ABSTRACT Southern African countries with large mining communities and thus high exposure to TB risk have developed a joint approach to address screening, tracking, tracing and treatment among the highly mobile population.

ABSTRACT The Health Economics and HIV and AIDS Research Division of the University of Kwazulu-Natal has just published a report synthesizing findings from three country case studies from Eastern and Southern Africa, commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as part of its work to support initiatives improving the impact of HIV programmes in the region.

ABSTRACT Tanzania, recently selected by the Global Fund Secretariat as one of the 18 countries to pilot the Secretariat’s 18-month CCM Evolution Initiative, has already forged ahead with its own plan to evolve its CCM, the Tanzania National Coordinating Mechanism (TNCM). The first TNCM retreat held in August this year has set the tone for transforming the TNCM into an effective management agency, by developing a transformation plan that will be integrated with that of the pilot CCM Evolution Initiative workplan.

ABSTRACT A delegation of East Africans visited harm reduction facilities in China to learn about their approach take-home methadone for people who use drugs, for possible application at home. The exchange was organized via the Global Fund’s multi-country harm reduction grant in East Africa, which is coming to an end this year.

ABSTRACT An audit of three grants to Tanzania by the Office of the Inspector General has found that although the country continues to make progress against the three diseases, quality of service issues persist, particularly in the HIV program. The audit also found that men who have sex with men continue to face major barriers accessing services.

ABSTRACT The Global Fund Board recently approved three TB and HIV grants for Tanzania, two of which have a government principal recipient (the Ministry of Finance and Planning). The third PR is AMREF Health Africa. The Technical Review Panel cited numerous strengths in the funding request, including the fact that the request identified key populations for TB: i.e. HIV-positive adults and children, mining communities, elderly persons, prisoners, people with diabetes, people who inject drugs, health workers and people living in urban slums.