Through PEPFAR, MHRP supports both the military through the Tanzania People's Defence Force and civilian populations through local communities and partners in Tanzania’s Southern Highlands region to fight HIV/AIDS. The program’s integrated approach to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment allows MHRP in Tanzania to offer a range of services to address transmission, co-infections and overall health and nutrition.
The military program is executed in tandem with the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF), which oversees operations in military health facilities throughout Tanzania, including eight zonal hospitals.
The civilian prevention, care and treatment program was developed with local partners in the Southern Highlands, including the regions of Mbeya, Rukwa, Katavi and Songwe. The program is conducted in collaboration with the Mbeya Zonal Referral Hospital (MZRH) and the Mbeya, Katavi, Songwe and Rukwa Regional Administrative Secretariats (RAS) and Regional Medical Offices (RMO). The program, referred to locally as the Walter Reed Program-Tanzania, also works in close coordination with the Ministry of Health (MOH), the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) and the President’s Office - Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG).
Program Highlights
Human Resources for Health in HIV Prevention and Care
MHRP provides technical assistance and training to build capacity of clinicians in HIV patient care and treatment, using the National AIDS Control Programme curriculum. This technical support has been integral to expanding facility-based care at MZRH and treatment throughout the zone. In addition to strengthening capacity at the facility level, MHRP’s program works with local partners to expand outreach and education in HIV care and treatment through village health care workers, home-based care volunteers and orphans and vulnerable children caregivers in the community.
The TPDF program has successfully trained a cadre of TPDF service providers and supports them with customized data collection tools for enhanced performance. The program also supports the Tanzanian government in implementing and scaling-up TB preventive therapy in line with national guidelines.