Elevate Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar
Together with our partners and with funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, EngenderHealth is working through our Elevate Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar program to ensure that women and girls in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar have access to high-quality, gender-equitable, and age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, an estimated 99 million unintended pregnancies occur each year globally, and it is estimated that between 2015 and 2019, 46% of all pregnancies in Tanzania were unintended. According to the Tanzania DHS, among sexually active, unmarried women, the use of any modern method has decreased from 46% in 2015–16 to 36% in 2022.
This program responds to the critical need for SRHR services in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. It does so by strengthening knowledge and decision-making power among girls and women, increasing access to information and quality SRHR services in health facilities in Zanzibar, and strengthening national efforts to advance a better legal and policy environment to provide equitable, high-quality, and gender-transformative SRHR services.EngenderHealth uses a multi-pronged approach involving multiple community and health systems partners to address these barriers from all sides. Key interventions of the program include addressing issues such as service provider skills, quality of care, and pervasive social-cultural norms and taboos around SRHR to improve the quality of services and increase uptake.
The program will also enhance the capacity of EngenderHealth’s Tanzania country office to provide better SRHR programming and leadership. It will also strengthen EngenderHealth’s global engagement in advancing the SRHR agenda.
The program’s expected outcomes include improving the SRHR ecosystem in Tanzania, which will be achieved through engaging partners such as professional bodies like ZANA and youth-led organizations, working through coalitions to advocate for policy change and implementation, and strengthening the capacity of partners, including the EngenderHealth Country Office to advocate for and effectively support the implementation of SRHR interventions across the country in an enabling environment. Through program activities, together with our partners, we are addressing barriers to SRH services that women and girls face and fostering an environment where they can access high-quality SRHR care. By improving access to SRHR information and services, particularly for girls and women—and transforming gender norms, we can accelerate progress toward a gender-equitable society.
Program Partners
- Young and Alive
- ZAFAYCO
- ZANA
