WORLD Vision Tanzania (WVT), in collaboration with other partners, is implementing a five-year project to improve maternal and child health in five regions of Mainland Tanzania.
Dubbed Enhancing Nutrition Services to Improve Maternal and Child Health in Africa and Asia (ENRICH), the 7bn/ – project is expected to be completed in June 2021 kicked off in March 2016.
According to ENRICH Project Manager Mwivano Malimbwi, its implementation is funded by the government of Canada (GAC) which provided 5m Canadian dollars (about $ 3.8m or 7bn/ -).
WVT is implementing the project in collaboration with Nutrition International, Harvest Plus, and Canadian Society for International Health and the University of Toronto.
Recently, WVT in collaboration with a network of civil societies fighting against malnutrition in Tanzania—Partnership for Nutrition in Tanzania (Panita) organised a one-day meeting in Dodoma with Members of Parliament (MPs) from the districts where the project is implemented to take them through the progress of the project.
According to Panita Programme Coordinator, Jane Msagati, the meeting aimed at lobbying MPs so that they may push for adequate budgetary allocation to improve maternal and child health as Parliament prepares for the next budget session expected to kick off next month.
Addressing MPs, the ENRICH Project coordinator said the project was expected to benefit 1,045,477 people (375,103 children and 444,101 women).
She added that the project was expected to reduce maternal and child mortality in targeted regions of the five countries in Asia and Africa.
The MPs commended the project, saying they would push for adequate budgetary allocation in support of the project.
“Because I am a member of the Regional Administration and Local Government Committee I will forward your recommendations to the responsible authorities for further action,” said Special Seats MP Martha Mlata (CCM) who comes from Singida Region.
Manyoni MP Daniel Mtuka (CCM) said maternal and child health was fundamental so there was a need to make it more effective.
For her part, Tarime Urban MP Ester Matiko (Chadema) said: “We need to look for internal fund sources, instead of depending everything on donors. I believe your presentations will help us to lobby for funds from the central government.”
At the meeting the MPs decided to form a group of nutrition champions who would be pushing for nutrition issues in the House.
