Tanzania
Developing all children to their full potential by 2026
Tanzania has made steady progress on markers of child survival and development.
However, more progress is needed to meet the national goal of ensuring that, by 2026, all children aged 0-8 are on track to develop to their full potential. The latest Demographic and Health Services (DHS, 2022) reveals that 3 out of 10 Tanzanian children under 5 are stunted and that less than half of children aged 24-59 months are developmentally on track in health, learning and psycho-social wellbeing. The World Bank’s 2020 Human Capital Index (HCI) indicates that a child born in Tanzania in 2020 would be 39 per cent as productive at the age of 18 as she could be if she enjoyed full health and complete education. This is slightly lower than the average for Sub-Saharan Africa and lower than the average for all low- and middle-income countries.
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The launch of the National Multi-sectoral ECD Programme (NM-ECDP) in 2021 has signalled that ECD is on the political agenda in Tanzania. However, numerous questions remain about how best to pursue this agenda – what investments are needed, how they should be sequenced, and how constraints related to fiscal space, organisational capability and trained manpower can be addressed and gradually alleviated. There is also a lack of clarity about the funds needed to deliver a comprehensive package of ECD services at scale and to reasonable quality standards.
The Tanzanian government is working on improving the quality and effectiveness of existing services related to ECD, and addressing gaps in service delivery by identifying delivery models that would work at scale.
The Challenges
3 out of 10
3 out of 10 Tanzanian children under 5 are deemed stunted in their development
DHS, 2022
39%
A child born in Tanzania in 2020 would be 39 per cent as productive at the age of 18 as she could be if she enjoyed full health and complete education
The World Bank’s 2020 Human Capital Index
53%
Percentage of Tanzania’s children aged between 2 and 5 that are developmentally off track
DHS, 2022
Thrive in Tanzania
During the inception phase, the Thrive team held discussions with 49 key stakeholders from 24 organisations in the ECD sector.
This initial engagement helped us understand what stakeholders considered as critical evidence for improving ECD outcomes in Tanzania. Based on a stocktaking of existing literature and stakeholder perspectives, several areas were identified as important for evidence generation.
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This included evidence to support the design, monitoring and quality assurance of contextually appropriate ECD delivery models that are viable and effective at scale, to understand the role of the ECD workforce could play in delivering services and adhering to quality standards, and to examine how ECD financing could work and budget allocations made. Stakeholders also saw a role for THRIVE in supporting the collaboration and coordination between key ECD stakeholders.
Our work in Tanzania is guided by a National Steering Committee that includes senior government officials and civil society representatives. We seek their input to develop and endorse our research agenda, and we also rely on their guidance for operationalizing our research projects. THRIVE’s National Steering Committee is co-chaired by the director of TECDEN Mwajuma Rwebangila and Sebastian Kitiku who is the director of child development at Ministry of Community Development Gender Women and Special Groups (MoCDGWSGs)
Our Projects
Latest Updates
Related Resources
Thrive - Policy Brief
Kizazi Kijacho: Empowering Tanzania’s next generation for economic growth and inclusion
1st February 2024
Thrive - Policy Brief
Nurturing care in Tanzania: How well is early childhood development enshrined in policy?
7th March 2024
Thrive - Working Paper
Kizazi Kijacho: A Randomised Controlled Trial of Parenting and Unconditional Cash Transfers in Tanzania
31 December 2023
Thrive - Research Insight
Kizazi Kijacho: How can community health workers support early childhood development?
30th April 2024
Our Tanzania Partners
Chr. Michelsen Institute
Institute for International Economic Studies/Stockholm University
FAIR/NHH Norwegian School of Economics
Ifakara Health Institute
Yale University
Oxford Policy Management
SightSavers
Understanding The Audience
61.7m
The total population of Tanzania in 2022 was 61.7 million
2022 population census
30%
of the population of Tanzania is aged 0–8 years (18.5 million; 30% of the total population)
2022 population census
49%
Poverty rate (international poverty line of US $1.9 per day)
2018, World Bank
524
Maternal mortality rate: 524/100,000 - increased from 454 in 2010
2017, World Bank
61%
Share of households with access to improved sources of drinking water
2015/16, TDHS
78%
Pre-primary gross enrolment rate
2020, World Bank
An expert team of Researchers, Investigators, Specialists & Consultants
Our team work in collaboration with ministries and national decision-makers, academics, and institutions, and the broader global community of development organisation to improve childhood health and wellbeing.
Our locations
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Bangladesh
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Ghana
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Kiribati
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Sierra Leone
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Tanzania
