Tanzania

Pathfinder is committed to the people of Tanzania and their right to sexual and reproductive health without fear or boundary. Since 1984, we have strengthened local partners, communities, and health systems to remove obstacles that stand in the way of providing high-quality, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care to those who need it most.

Supporting Tanzania’s national response to reducing unmet need for contraception, Pathfinder builds upon our experience pioneering community-based distribution of contraceptives by implementing several high-impact contraception programs that serve a population of over 1 million women. Our work is tailored to meet the unique contraceptive needs of adolescents and women across their various life stages. This includes youth-friendly contraceptive services, contraceptive counseling as part of antenatal care for pregnant women, postpartum contraception, contraception as a key part of comprehensive postabortion care, and contraception integrated into HIV services.

To avert preventable deaths during delivery and birth, Pathfinder is reaching women along the continuum from their home to their health facility. Working in every village and every facility of Sengerema, Buchosya, and Shinyanga districts, we partner with local governments to provide high-quality, respectful maternal care during antenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum periods, as well as emergency care for both mother and newborn. Pathfinder mobilizes communities to identify danger signs of complications, while ensuring emergency transport for women at the last mile.

In 2008, Pathfinder began using mobile technology to improve communication between Tanzania’s health clinics and home-based care providers. We are the largest nonprofit user of Vodacom mPesa in the country, and we continue to drive innovations in digital health. With dedicated partners, we recently launched a groundbreaking system—the Uber of emergency transport—utilizing SMS and mPesa. And our latest activity—using barcodes to confirm referrals between communities and facilities—is the first of its kind worldwide.

Pathfinder, with leaders in environmental conservation, local communities, and the government, is unlocking a formula for achieving 11 of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals at the same time. Our Population, Health, and Environment programs offer hard-to-reach communities holistic solutions for advancing reproductive rights, gender equality, economic opportunity, and access to health care, while enabling them to sustainably manage their natural resources.

Meeting Tanzania’s national health goals requires a health system with strong, sustained performance that is responsive to community needs. Pathfinder is helping to make this a reality. We provide technical support to numerous local partners on health care financing, human resources, governance, and information, while simultaneously advancing tools for accountability. One such tool—the Community Scorecard—empowers citizens to identify gaps in their health services, then brings them together with providers to solve issues hand in hand.