SPEECH BY H.E. DR. MOHAMMED GHARIB BILAL,  VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA AT THE JHPIEGO’S MAISHA DISSEMINATION MEETING ON MATERNAL AND NEWBORN HEALTH IN TANZANIA, SERENA HOTEL, DAR ES SALAAM,  16TH.  APRIL, 2014

SPEECH BY H.E. DR. MOHAMMED GHARIB BILAL,  VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA AT THE JHPIEGO’S MAISHA DISSEMINATION MEETING ON MATERNAL AND NEWBORN HEALTH IN TANZANIA, SERENA HOTEL, DAR ES SALAAM,  16TH.  APRIL, 2014
 
Hon.  Dr. Kebwe Stephen Kebwe (MP), Deputy Minister for Health
 and Social Welfare;
 
Hon.  Said Meck Sadick, Regional Commissioner for Dar es Salaam;
 
Dr. Donan Mmbando, The Chief Medical Officer, Ministry of Health
 and Social Welfare;
 
 USAID Tanzania Representative;
 
 Directors and Assistant Directors, Ministry of Health and Social   Welfare;
 
Ms. Maryjane Lacoste, Jhpiego/Tanzania Country Director ;
 
Representatives of the Civil Society, Private Sector and Government Official;
 
Health Workers;
 
Members of  Press;
 
Invited Guests;
 
Ladies and Gentlemen.
 
Let me humbly start by thanking entire leadership of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, for inviting me to officiate this Maternal and Newborn Health Stakeholders’ Meeting which also commemorates  the end of the USAID-funded MAISHA Project.
 
I commend you Hon. Deputy Minister Dr. Kebwe and your team for this initiative, that is meant to take stock of the progress the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has made with partners implementing the Mothers and Infants, Safe, Healthy and Alive (MAISHA) Program led by Jhpiego, in improving the wellbeing of mothers, children and families  in Tanzania over the past five years.
 
Also let me take this opportunity sincerely to thank our development partners, particularly the Government of the United States of America through its Agency for International Development (USAID), and other funding mechanisms such including PEPFAR and PMI, for their financial and technical support. We are truly grateful for your partnership and support to the Government of Tanzania, in our efforts to accelerate the reduction of maternal and newborn deaths and for total supporting development of  this country. 
 
Ladies and Gentlemen;
From what I have learned, the MAISHA program was indeed a unique partnership that brought together various stakeholders; The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare through the Directorate of Preventive Services, USAID and Jhpiego that led a group of other organizations, with unique capabilities and innovations committed to saving lives of mothers and newborns.
 
In line with the program’s unique name, MAISHA, which means ‘LIFE’  in Swahili, you have been building solid foundations over the last five years for quality services that have been promoting MAISHA, ‘LIFE’: empowering providers and communities at all levels of the health system across the country, to deliver targeted interventions that are now making a real difference in keeping mothers and their newborns, safe, healthy and alive.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen;
This meeting to share the experience from the implementation of MAISHA Program comes at a crucial time, when we are all looking back and taking stock of the progress we have made against our targets in the five-year, Roadmap Strategic Plan to Accelerate Reduction of Maternal, Newborn and Child Deaths (2008-2015). The Ministry of Health has just completed the Mid-term reviews for the Health Sector Strategic Plan III and the National Road Map Strategic Plan to Accelerate Reduction of Maternal, Newborn and Child Deaths (2008-2015). The findings from the reviews provide an avenue for evidence based prioritization of cost effective interventions in order to accelerate progress towards achievements of Millennium Development Goals, particularly as we approach the 2015 deadline. Furthermore it is the foundation for our strategic direction in the Post 2015 era.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen;
In this line, I am pleased to announce to you that, the UN Report on Child Mortality Estimates that was released in September 2013 shows that Tanzania has attained Millennium Development Goal number 4, the target for Tanzania was to reduce under five mortality rate to 54 per 1000 live births by 2015. This great achievement is a result of improved Malaria control, sustained high immunization coverage, high Vitamin ‘A’ supplementation coverage, and Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) and Health Sector Reforms. This was made possible through strong partnerships, financial support and collaboration with development partners and stakeholders. The success gives us the motivation to further push and accelerate progress as it is unacceptable for any child to die from preventable causes.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Despite progress in reducing child mortality, Tanzania is still lagging behind in improving maternal and newborn health. Why do our mothers should continue to die from preventable causes, and at such a high rate while giving life to another? Our slogan in the African Region for the Campaign on Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) states; “Africa Cares- No woman Should Die While bringing life.” In Tanzania we adapted it to; “Tanzania Cares- No Woman should die while giving life and no child should die from preventable causes.”
 
Ladies and Gentlemen;
I am pleased to hear that MAISHA and it’s partners in collaboration with the Ministry, have worked tirelessly to address causes of maternal deaths in the past five years. It is my hope that these important investments will lead to positive results in upcoming surveys showing further reduction for maternal mortality from the level in 2010 which was 454 per 100,000 live births.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Nevertheless, we should all be challenged and understand that we still have a work to do. As we speak, only about a half of births in Tanzania take place in health facilities and are assisted by a skilled provider. And the challenges are many:
·        Delay in seeking care: Women may have to get permission from a spouse or other family members delaying the process to seek care;
·        Delay in arriving at an emergency care facility:  Transportation may be unavailable or unaffordable or poor infrastructure to get to the health facilities; and
·        Delay in receiving care from providers: Facilities may lack staff, equipment or supplies.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen;
It is therefore imperative that we continue efforts to sustain the gains achieved and intensify our efforts. I would like to highlight a few key areas about the MAISHA Project that impressed me. I am pleased to hear that MAISHA supported the Ministry to develop important guidelines and training materials for care at birth, the postnatal period, integrated community maternal, newborn and child health services and quality improvement guidelines. These guidelines will continue to contribute to better services and improved outcomes beyond the life span of the project. I also commend the efforts towards building capacity and skills of providers which included strengthening pre-service training. I believe strong pre-service training is a core element towards ensuring sustainability quality maternal and child health services.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen;
The effort towards integration of services ensuring comprehensive services such as HIV prevention, family planning and cervical cancer screening is highly commendable. Integration of services is not only efficient but effective and provides a mechanism to use every opportunity to reach a larger number of individuals with needed services
 
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Before coming to this stage I meet with some of the providers and beneficiaries of this Program. I also met Community Health Workers who are doing a tremendous job of bringing maternal, newborn and child health services to a doorstep in their villages. I learned that MAISHA has supported capacity building to more than 650 Community Health Workers in the mainland and in Zanzibar. These community health workers have been further equipped with smart phones applications that are helping them identify danger signs and plan follow-up visits with their clients.
 
The major success we have achieved in maternal and newborn health system strengthening through the MAISHA Program has without doubt improved health outcomes for both women and children. The Government of Tanzania acknowledges that initiatives like the USAID supported MAISHA in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Regional Health Management Teams (RHMTs) and other partners, are a significant contribution in our efforts towards reaching our targets.
 
Once again, I commend the partnership and collaboration between the Ministries of Health in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar. These partners are USAID, PEPFAR, PMI, and other partners-Jhpiego, Save the Children, IMA World Health, T-Marc, Futures Group, D-tree, Medical association of Tanganyika (MAT), Regional and Council Health Management teams and all other stakeholders for remarkable achievements. The Government of Tanzania will continue to treasure our collaboration and partnership in meeting national and international maternal and child health goals.
 
Hon. Deputy Minister;
Invited Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
In conclusion, I want to assure you that Tanzania remains committed for accelerating the reduction of maternal, newborn and child mortality. The Government is now in the process of including health in the Government’s Big Results Now agenda. Deliberate efforts are being made to mobilize more resources towards critical health interventions, including maternal, newborn and child health services. We do understand that if MDG Goals number 4 and 5 on Improving Child and Maternal Health fail, the other MDGs will likely fail as well. We also know that investment in reproductive health care, education, emergency obstetric services and skilled care at delivery will enable Mothers and Infants be Safe, Healthy and Alive (MAISHA).
 
We look forward to continued collaboration as we strive to save lives and protecting our people’s health by increasing access to affordable quality reproductive and child health services to women and families. I am aware that regional representatives and Ministry officials will be meeting with Project partners this afternoon to establish deliberations on how these many gains can be maintained. I wish you fruitful discussion and I am looking forward to receiving positive feedback from that discussion.
 
Thank you for your kind attention.