Increasing the number of health facilities reporting viral load data for HIV-positive pregnant and breastfeeding mothers

Three of these councils are located in Dar Es Salaam, and six are in Dodoma. For the three councils in Dar Es Salaam, the median number of health facilities that contributed VL suppression data was 73. For the six councils in Dodoma, the median was two. The low number of facilities reporting VL data on HIV-positive mothers in 2021 was attributed to several factors, including a knowledge gap on new Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) tools for healthcare providers, a shortage of PMTCT tools at some health facilities, and a lack of knowledge on the reporting flow of PMTCT data at the facilities. Additionally, the Council Health Management Team (CHMT) members lacked knowledge of PMTCT tools, leading to inadequate technical assistance to healthcare providers at the facilities level. To address these challenges, Data.FI implemented several strategies between May and December 2022. These included leveraging implementing partners (IPs) to provide onsite mentorship to CHMT members and healthcare providers, conducting onsite mentorship on new PMTCT reporting tools and reporting flow, and disseminating new PMTCT data collection packages to health facilities. The packages included distribution of registers and other PMTCT reporting tools, as well as providing technical assistance to health facilities. As a result of these implemented strategies, the number of health facilities reporting VL data on HIV-positive mothers increased significantly. In 2022, the median number of health facilities contributing VL suppression data in the three councils in Dar Es Salaam increased to 95, while in the six councils in Dodoma, the median increased to 12. This represents a substantial improvement compared to the baseline performance in 2021. To sustain this progress, Data.FI plans to continue conducting frequent data reviews in situation room meetings to assess the change in the number of facilities contributing to VL suppression data. The organization will also continue conducting onsite mentorships and follow-up with healthcare providers on new PMTCT reporting tools and reporting flow. Additionally, Data.FI will ensure the printing of new PMTCT reporting tools and distribute other available tools, engage with care and treatment clinical IPs on the ground with regular situation room data review sessions, and continue to advocate for CHMTs to own the data use approach.