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Family Health International

Project Promotes Youth Reproductive Health in Tanzania -- December 12, 2003

USAID-Sponsored Project by FHI and POPP Promotes Youth Reproductive Health in Tanzania -- December 12, 2003

DAR ES SALAAM  -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission to Tanzania has awarded Family Health International (FHI) $1.5 million for start-up and first year costs of a three-year YouthNet/Tanzania Project, to promote the reproductive health of youth in Tanzania.  The estimated funding level for the three-year period is anticipated to be $7-9 million, depending on the availability of funds. 

Under its Cooperative Agreement with USAID, FHI is implementing the YouthNet Program worldwide in partnership with CARE, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Emerging Markets, Margaret Sanger Center International and RTI International.

In Tanzania, the YouthNet Project has been authorized under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between FHI and the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania (GOT), President's Office – Planning and Privatization (POPP).  The MOU was signed by the Permanent Secretary, POPP, on behalf of GOT on October 10, 2003; its execution was completed on October 25, 2003, when FHI's President and Chief Executive Officer countersigned the agreement.  The MOU authorizes FHI to provide technical assistance and resources for scaling up and mainstreaming of multi-sector adolescent sexual and reproductive health initiatives in selected geographical areas of the country.

On November 9, 2003, Mr. Mark A. Robbins arrived in Tanzania to initiate the project in his capacity as FHI's Country Director.  A ceremonial exchange of the MOU with the Permanent Secretary is planned for December 16, 2003, to formally launch the YouthNet/Tanzania Project.  The ceremony will take place in the POPP Conference Room, at 10:00 a.m.

"There are 1.7 billion youth worldwide, many of whom are at risk of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs)," says JoAnn Lewis, MPH, FHI Senior Vice President for Reproductive Health. "The goals of this program are to increase community and political support for youth reproductive health; to improve knowledge, attitudes and skills related to healthy reproductive practices, including strategies to help young adults delay sexual activity; and to expand access to quality reproductive health products and services for youth."

Consistent with GOT priorities for adolescents, YouthNet will focus on Tanzanian youth between the ages of 10 and 19 to improve their sexual and reproductive health knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, as well as positive gender perspectives, in order to achieve decreased unintended pregnancy and HIV infection among young Tanzanians. 

Strategies to achieve the project's goals include:

  • NGO coordination, technical leadership and policy initiatives to enhance multi-sector response, drawing on lessons learned and best practices
  • Community support and involvement within the health reform structure of decentralized decision-making
  • Risk perception and prevention skills to reinforce the understanding of individual risks and adoption of protective behaviors by young Tanzanians
  • Support to youth-friendly services, through public, private, and faith-based health delivery systems
  • Improving life and livelihood skills of young people.

There are four crosscutting themes that will guide planning and implementation:

  • Youth participation and leadership
  • Gender
  • Capacity building of individuals, organizations, and networks
  • Public/private sector partnership.

"We also believe that, for these initiatives to have an impact, youth must be full partners in the development, implementation, management and evaluation of strategies and programs," says Ms. Lewis. "We view youth as assets, not problems. By recognizing their strengths and resiliency, we can help them to build skills that they can apply to all areas of their lives."

YouthNet/Tanzania will establish a country office in Dar es Salaam and recruit national staff in both technical leadership and administrative/support capacities.   During the project's first year, the geographic focus will be on establishing a strong leadership presence in Dar es Salaam and on initiating technical collaboration, assistance, and support activities in Iringa Region.  In cooperation with regional and district authorities, a baseline household survey of youth knowledge, attitudes, and practices will be conducted in Iringa.

Family Health International has its principal corporate offices in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.  Atlanta-based CARE, with 50 years of experience coordinating and managing community-based programs in over 60 countries, will work with FHI to manage youth interventions at the country level. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, based in Washington, DC, will be responsible for increasing private sector involvement in youth reproductive health. Margaret Sanger Center International in New York City, with three decades of experience assisting youth and reproductive health programs, will assist reproductive health education efforts through schools and through faith-based organizations. RTI International in Research Triangle Park, NC will share its considerable experience in policy reform and gender issues.

USAID administers foreign aid, which includes efforts to deliver family planning services, promote safe pregnancy and delivery, and integrate reproductive health with other needs, such as the prevention of HIV/AIDS.

FHI is a research and technical assistance organization dedicated to improving reproductive health worldwide. It has 30 years of experience developing, managing and implementing complex programs in family planning, reproductive health, HIV/STIs, adolescent and maternal health, and gender issues with funding from, and in partnership with, USAID and its overseas missions. FHI has carried out more than 70 activities, studies and projects focusing on youth.

The YouthNet Cooperative Agreement, awarded in 2001, follows other recent awards to FHI. In 2000, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) selected FHI to manage an international center supporting research involving tropical and other infectious diseases in tropical regions. In 1999, NIAID awarded FHI a $22 million, five-year contract to manage a network of research universities and institutions that are evaluating HIV prevention interventions in the United States and in developing countries. Also, in 1999, USAID awarded FHI an $87 million, five-year agreement to continue contraceptive research and related reproductive health projects. Among FHI's other major programs is the Implementing AIDS Prevention and Care (IMPACT) project based in Washington, also financed by USAID. In partnership with five other organizations, the five-year, $148 million IMPACT project works in more than 30 developing countries to prevent the spread of HIV and to provide care for those who are infected. 

For more information, please contact:

Mark A. Robbins
FHI – YouthNet/Tanzania
P.O. Box 78735, Dar es Salaam
255-744-082940

www.fhi.org/youthnet

Family Health International is dedicated to improving lives, knowledge, and understanding worldwide through a highly diversified program of research, education, and services in family health and HIV/AIDS prevention and care. Since its inception in 1971, FHI has formed partnerships with national governments and local communities in countries throughout the developing world to support lasting improvements in the health of individuals and the effectiveness of entire health systems.