Government Accountability for Advancing FP in Tanzania

Publication date: 2014

GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ADVANCING FP IN TANZANIA Laili Irani Health Policy Project, Population Reference Bureau Partner logo or website: www.rhsupplies.org Government entities responsible for implementing FP policies and programs Ministry of Health (MOH)/ Reproductive and Child Health Section (RCHS)  Procures commodities  Provides technical guidance Prime Minister’s Office Regional Administration & Local Government  Guides local governments Medical Stores Department (MSD)  Procure, distribute, and keep stock of commodities District Management Offices (DMOs)  Budget for various FP activities, except for commodities  Provide data on FP commodities and activities  Conducted a case study to learn about the implementation of FP in Tanzania  March–April 2014  Aim is to identify how FP policies are being implemented and determine the link between health policies and health systems  Conducted key informant interviews with various stakeholders  RCHS  Donors  USAID implementing partners  Civil society groups  Regional Management Offices (RMOs) and DMOs from three regions and nine districts Investigating the implementation of FP in Tanzania  Tanzania had a robust FP program in the 1990s (e.g., Green Star Campaign)  Funding and activities were limited in the early 2000s  Political and financial support for FP has been growing in Tanzania since 2008  A Family Planning Technical Working Group (TWG) was established in 2008 and has been strengthened over the years  The National FP Costed Implementation Plan (CIP) was developed in 2010  In July 2012, President Kikwete and the Minister of Health represented Tanzania at the London FP Summit Growing support for FP in Tanzania National FP Technical Working Group  Due to a need to engage the ministry in FP activities, the FP TWG was established  Membership grew, and it gained momentum after the CIP was launched  Smaller groups were formed to address specific matters  Focus the discussion on a specific FP activity  Provide an avenue to engage the MOH and get its support to help move activities along “It [TWG] is our backbone.” – Implementing partner Membership  RCHS [Chair]  MSD  Implementing partners  Donors  Civil society groups National FP Costed Implementation Program  Has been the guiding FP document for the RCHS  Emphasizes commodities and capacity building  Helps unite all the implementing partners under a common purpose  “All partners see how their activities fit within a bigger picture.” – Implementing partner Implementing the National FP Costed Implementation Program  The program document has one chapter describing who will carry out specific activities  However, many partners feel that the roles and responsibilities for implementing the CIP are not clear  Monitoring the progress has been a challenge  Implementing partners feel that the reporting system is cumbersome  The information technology system for uploading reports is not user-friendly  The results summary from monitoring is sometimes incomplete Financing mechanisms and resource allocation Central government, through the MOH, allocates money for commodities Local government, through the DMOs, allocates money for all other FP needs Beneficiaries Donors Implementing partners Source: Health Promotion Tanzania (HDT), 2014. Allocations for commodities (in billion TSh) Year Estimated Need (in billions) Allocated Amount (in billions) Released Amount (in billions) 2009–10 24 3.5 7.5 2010–11 20 3.5 14.6 2011–12 20 5.2 4.0 2012–13 20 4.0 2.2 2013–14 20 - -  There is better transparency of funds at the national and local levels  The MOH has allocated and released a few pending billion TSh for FP  Civil society has been successful in bringing the MOH and Prime Minister’s Office Regional Administration & Local Government to release a directive mandating all district governments to allocate funds for FP  The MOH, along with implementing partners, are focusing their efforts on increasing FP uptake in the Lake and Western zones with the lowest contraceptive prevalence Impact of advocacy on financial accountability for FP www.healthpolicyproject.com Thank You! The Health Policy Project is a five-year cooperative agreement funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development under Agreement No. AID-OAA-A-10-00067, beginning September 30, 2010. It is implemented by Futures Group, in collaboration with Plan International USA, Futures Institute, Partners in Population and Development, Africa Regional Office (PPD ARO), Population Reference Bureau (PRB), RTI International, and the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood (WRA). GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ADVANCING FP IN TANZANIA Government entities responsible for implementing FP policies and programs Investigating the implementation of FP in Tanzania Growing support for FP in Tanzania National FP Technical Working Group Slide Number 6 Slide Number 7 Financing mechanisms and resource allocation Allocations for commodities (in billion TSh) Impact of advocacy on financial accountability for FP Slide Number 11

View the publication