Challenge

Women are experiencing disrespectful treatment during childbirth, which may lead to dissatisfaction or distrust in health systems, in turn leading to adverse health outcomes.

Solution

By training citizens and providers on the rights of women and newborns in childbirth, based on the Respectful Maternity Care Charter, we can ensure women’s right to dignity in health care and improve effective utilization of facilities for childbirth to reduce maternal mortality.

Our Strategy
WRA Tanzania’s new Strategic Plan 2019–2022 will increase access for all women and newborns to quality maternal and newborn health services before, during and after childbirth.

Our Work

For sixteen years, WRA Tanzania has grown by mobilizing citizens to advocate for improved reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health outcomes while demanding accountability for commitments made by decision-makers.

WRA Tanzania is continually advocating to advance respectful maternity care in Tanzania, working to expand the institutionalization of the Government’s Client-Provider Service Charter. As of March 2020, 328 health facilities in 16 districts across 4 regions had publicly displayed the charter.

WRA Tanzania is working to enhance the capacity of women and girls, men and boys, and health workers at community and health facilities to prevent and respond to violence against women. Utilizing national guidelines on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) the Respectful Maternity Care Charter, they are training citizens and community health workers to recognize, respond, prevent and report incidences of violence against women and girls.

WRA Tanzania is calling for commitments from policy and decision-makers and demanding citizen’s voices be heard and acted upon. In 2019, they launched the What Women Want Campaign results at the Parliament with Parliamentarian Group for Safe Motherhood, including the Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children. 

Our Impact

As part of the global What Women Want campaign, WRA Tanzania and more than 200 partners mobilized 111,901 responses from women and girls in over 10 districts across Tanzania. The top demands: quality medicines and supplies, respectful and dignified care, and improved maternal and reproductive health services.

As a strategy to prevent maternal deaths in Kagera region, WRA Tanzania enhanced the capacity of communities recognize, respond, prevent and report Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). As a result, 176 women who experienced VAWG reported to the health facility for treatment as well as to law enforcement, leading to the 30-year imprisonment of 3 abusers.

WRA Tanzania built the capacity of district authorities in Kigoma, Mwanza, Shinyanga and Simiyu to ensure respectful care, youth-friendly services, and an increase in male engagement.  As a result of these advocacy efforts, 80 health facilities adopted the government’s Client – Provider Service Charter as a billboard for public information on their rights and responsibilities, and more than 1,500 women were accompanied by their male spouses while attending maternity services.