Development of Community Based Programs
A Learning Agenda for the Development of Community Based Programs in Tanzania: Towards the Development of a Community Health Worker (CHW) Cadre (Tanzania)
The evaluation project will support the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s (MOHSW) Community Health Worker (CHW) Task Force with the design and development of an integrated community health worker program, support the implementation partners with the proposed scale-up of integrated community-based programs and improve their effectiveness through implementation research, and assist implementation partners to help reduce dropouts from the continuum of care by improving retention and adherence to care. Specifically, the evaluation team will provide technical assistance to generate policy and program-relevant evidence through landscaping, a learning agenda, and the monitoring, evaluation, and implementation research activities. The goal of this project is to facilitate active learning that will take advantage of existing resources and planned policy changes. The active learning cycles would help strengthen the quality and coverage of an effective and efficient package of services that can provide a full continuum of MNCH care in a sustainable and evolving delivery system. In support of this goal, the JHU-MUHAS evaluation team will work collaboratively with MOHSW including the CHW Task Force and implementing partners to achieve the following objectives:
- Support different sections of the MOHSW with the information and evidence required to develop an integrated community program, and make recommendations to the MOHSW through the CHW Task Force regarding a long-term approach for an integrated CHW that will serve the needs of pregnant women and children, both HIV-positive and negative.
- Support the MOHSW (NACP) and PEPFAR partners in the collection and analysis of uniform data from the various regions/ districts to quantify the extent of and reasons for dropout and develop and test integrated facility-community implementation strategies to improve adherence and retention of HIV-positive mothers and testing and treatment of children.
- Provide evaluation and implementation research support to MOHSW and other partners responsible for community programming to effectively scale up the community program.
Local Partner
- Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS)