Implementation and Expansion in Tanzania
By Tara Newton, Senior Communications Associate, BID Initiative
Oct 13, 2016
Posted in Policies & Practices, Practices, Products
Implementation in Arusha Region Tanzania is in full swing with two districts (Arusha City and Meru districts) complete and a third district (Karatu) making excellent progress. We also held sensitization meetings with community leaders and health officials in a fourth district (Longido) in preparation for rollout in the coming weeks.
The BID Initiative team is busy training health staff on the new electronic immunization registry, back-entering data from the paper registries, establishing a data-use culture and training village leaders how to register home births into the electronic immunization registry via SMS. To date, 132 facilities are implementing the BID Initiative, 47,275 children have been registered in the new immunization registry, and 258 health workers have been trained on BID solutions.
As we continue implementation in Arusha Region, we are working closely with the Tanzania Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children (MOHCDGEC) to determine plans for rolling out to additional regions and continuing expansion across Tanzania. With Arusha Region on track to be complete by the end of the year, we’ll be sharing an update on BID’s next region to further scale up and help ensure the BID Initiative is applicable and adaptable to different contexts.
In the meantime, get a glimpse into our most recent work in Karatu District:

Photo: PATH/Saumu Juma. Mothers in a queue waiting for service at a clinic session at Karatu RC dispensary.

Photo: PATH/Saumu Juma. A learning session at Basodawish Dispensary is held. Mothers lined up outside to have their babies registered in the electronic immunization system.

Photo: PATH/Saumu Juma. Mothers with their babies waiting for the outreach clinic to start in Matala village Karatu DC. Up to 200 babies can come to this clinic in one session. Due to the remote location, vaccines are delivered by a helicopter from a neighboring district.

Photo: PATH/Saumu Juma. Village leader training in Mang’ola Barazani, Karatu DC. Mang’ola Health Center is one of the busiest facilities in this area.
Please continue to follow our progress facility by facility in Tanzania on our website.