Tanzania Human Resource Capacity Project: Quarterly Progress Report October – December, 2009

Agency for International Development (USAID). The project aims to support government efforts in developing an adequate health and social welfare workforce in Tanzania. The project's strategic objectives include assisting the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW) and the President's Office, Regional Administration and Local Government (PMORALG) in implementing the human resource for health (HRH) strategy and the human resource components of the Health Sector Strategic Plan (HSSP) III. The project focuses on four key components: support to national government, district HRH strengthening and development, development of a cadre of Para Social Workers to address the needs of Most Vulnerable Children (MVCs), and establishing a functional comprehensive Human Resource Information System (HRIS). The project's implementing partners include IntraHealth International, Benjamin Mkapa AIDS Foundation, Christian Social Services Commission, University of Dar es Salaam, Aga Khan Foundation, Management Sciences for Health, Training Resources Group, and Inter-church Medical Association. During the quarter, the project made significant progress in implementing its strategic objectives. In support of national government, the project assisted in the establishment of a HRH Secretariat to support the implementation of the HRH Strategic Plan. The project also introduced THRP to key national stakeholders, including representatives of development partners, NGOs, regional, district, and national-level government officials. The project's HRIS component focused on negotiating implementing partner agreements, establishing a common vision for HRIS among key HRIS stakeholders, and identifying HRIS needs at regional, district, and facility levels. Although the MOU between IntraHealth and PMO-RALG is still pending, implementation is proceeding with the recruitment of the HRIS Advisor and documentation of health worker routine system parameters. In the district HRH strengthening and development component, the project conducted follow-up visits in four districts trained on the HRM toolkit to assess progress made in implementing actions identified in the HRH action plan. The project also completed the review of existing national orientation package and assessment of orientation practices in the health sector. The MVC Program Component trained 196 Para-social Workers from Mwanza city council on providing basic social welfare services to MVCs and trained 25 Para-social Worker supervisors on supervision of Para-social workers. The project also assessed the quality of service data collected by PSWs and the ability of the LGA system to support collecting quality data in Dodoma Municipal, Bahi, and Kondoa Districts. Overall, the project made significant progress in implementing its strategic objectives and achieving its goals. The project's focus on HRH strengthening, HRIS development, and MVC support is critical to addressing the challenges faced by Tanzania in developing an adequate health and social welfare workforce.