FIRST-EVER PARLIAMENTARIAN CLUB FOUNDED TO BUILD ON THREE-FOLD INCREASE IN DOMESTIC SPENDING FOR FAMILY PLANNING
Tanzania Advocacy Case Study
A newly formed parliamentarian family planning club (PFPC) in Tanzania will oversee 1.83 billion shillings (US$ 1.1 million) of domestic resources for family planning during the 2011/2012 financial year, a three-fold increase over the previous year. Convened by the Tanzanian Association of Parliamentarians for Population and Development and aided by Health Policy Project (HPP)[1] and Advance Family Planning, Tanzania (AFP/TZ)[2], the PFPC comprises 15 members of parliament (MPs) from both the ruling and opposition parties of mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. These MPs pledge to advance family planning as a socio-economic development tool, engage in policy on fund disbursement and supply chain management, and improve the quality of health services as steps toward reaching the national target of a 60% contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) by 2015[3].
Background—A critical need for family planning resources
The average Tanzanian woman has six children. Often poor and lacking family planning services and supplies, few women (just 27%) report using modern contraception, while 7% report using traditional methods such as the rhythm or folk method, according to the 2010 national demographic and health survey. Despite improvements since 2005, today 454 women out of every 100,000 live births die from childbirth and/or pregnancy complications[4]. As a result, Tanzania has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa.
To achieve Tanzania’s maternal and child health goals, an estimated US$ 12.4 million is needed annually, with international donors bearing much of the cost. In 2011, the government of Tanzania set a milestone when domestic funding for family planning more than tripled to US$ 1.1 million, up from about US$ 310,000 in 2010/2011. This boost in resources signaled a greater need for accountability and fund management at the national level. Family planning partners look to MPs, who work closely with ministers of health and finance, to fill this role.
The Strategy—Building Leadership within the Parliament to Achieve MDG5b
The Parliamentarian Family Planning Club was organized in July 2011 to help meet the needs of family planning services, which address Millennium Development Goal 5, a priority within Tanzania’s national policies and frameworks such as Vision 2025, a blueprint for development in the country, and MKUKUTA II, a poverty reduction strategic plan. Of the National Assembly’s 343 MPs, 15 comprise the club, which facilitates coordination among the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and health partners HPP, AFP and others. The PFPC will help manage US$ 1.1 million in family planning resources. Now the Club will turn its attention to promoting the Government’s London Summit on Family Planning commitment to increase the percent of women using contraceptives from 27 to 60 percent.
Key Activities—Analysis and High-level Advocacy
A number of key activities implemented by AFP/TZ, in partnership with Tanzanian partner Human Development Trust (HDT) and HPP, laid the groundwork for the formation of the PFPC. Using a decision-making and planning tool based on the Spitfire Strategies Smart Chart[TM], AFP/TZ performed a political support analysis, analyzed long-term government budgetary allocations for family planning, and developed advocacy presentations for sustainable family planning services.
To identify potential members of the PFPC, AFP/TZ carried out a content analysis of parliamentary debates and discussions on family planning, wherein 15 key supporters of reproductive health and family planning issues were identified and invited to attend workshops.
The workshops leading up to the first formal Parliamentary Family Planning Club meeting commenced in February and April 2011. At the first workshop, AFP/TZand Futures Group International presented a policy brief that linked family planning with poverty reduction via MKUKUTA II, and presented MPs with specific objectives to increase national resources for family planning, reducing dependence on donors.
At the second workshop, parliamentarians reviewed an advocacy strategy[5] jointly developed by AFP/TZ, HDT and Futures Group. They also nominated a PFPC chair, vice chair and secretary. Individual meetings followed, convening partners, MPs and the Deputy Minister of Health and Social Welfare to review financial resources for family planning and discuss upcoming parliamentary sessions.
The inaugural Parliamentary Family Planning Club meeting took place in July 2011, with the Deputy Minister presiding. Another key MP, Dr. Hadji Mponda, Minister for Health and Social Welfare at the time, expressed his support for and interest in the club after learning about it through the media. Dr. Mponda has championed the procurement and distribution of medicines and family planning commodities in the Parliament.
The Deputy Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Hon. Dr. Lucy Nkya (sitting second
from left), with Parliamentary Family Planning Club members in Dodoma in July 2011
Lessons Learned and Next Steps
Parliamentarians engaged in family planning policy have the potential to strengthen advocacy efforts within the National Assembly and increase resources for family planning programs and commodities. At the outset, it is important to identify prospective champions of family planning causes. The Spitfire Strategies Smart Chart™ approach helps craft viable arguments for increased family planning investments. The PFPC provides a platform for partners to lend systematic and sustained support to national programs on family planning and foster accountability, cohesiveness, and commitment among high-level supporters.
Likewise, the PFPC plays a critical role in helping parliamentarians understand health systems as they pertain to family planning. Going forward, AFP, HDT and Futures Group will support PFPC field visits to health clinics, monitor services, and help resolve bottlenecks. Partners will also provide technical expertise, strengthen advocacy strategies, and build leadership within the National Assembly. This mutual instruction—both collective and individual—can support parliamentarians’ efforts to increase and improve family planning services in a competitive and resource-strapped environment.
Acknowledgments
Mr. Ng’wavi, the parliamentary secretary; PFPC Chairperson, Hon. Jenista Mhagama, Reproductive and Child Health Section, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare
For More Information
Halima Shariff, Advance Family Planning Tanzania
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April 20, 2012 |
[1] HPI Task Order 5 is a project being implemented by the Futures Group International in Tanzania.
[2] AFP is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The AFP Consortium includes Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health (Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health and Center for Communication Programs), African Women’s Development Fund, Partners in Population and Development, and Futures Group International.
[3] The national CPR target is stated in the National Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan (NFPCIP 2010-2015).
[4] National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) [Tanzania] and ICF Macro. 2011. Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey 2010. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: NBS and ICF Macro,
[TM]
[5] PFPC Advocacy Strategy’s vision is to have a country where all women and men needing family planning services are able to access them regardless of where they live.