TANZANIA—Global Affairs Canada, has agreed to invest US$11.4M in the Building Rights for Improved Girl’s Health in Tanzania (BRIGHT), which aims to assist adolescents in Tanzania access sexual reproductive health and nutrition services.
The seven-year integrated adolescent nutrition initiative is designed to build agency and empower adolescents (aged 10-19 years) to exercise their sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and nutrition rights.
The project will be led by Nutrition International and will work alongside, World Vision Canada, HarvestPlus, the Canadian Association for Global Health, Engender Health, Young & Alive, and McGill University.
BRIGHT will aim to promote the scale-up of gender transformative, evidence-based interventions that aim to remove the barriers that hinder women and girls from realizing access to good nutrition, health, and sexual reproductive and reproductive health rights (SRHR).
Nutrition International in the past has supported the development of costed multisectoral national anaemia prevention and treatment plans, including weekly iron and folic acid supplementation (WIFAS) for adolescent girls, delivered through schools in Kenya, Tanzania, and Bangladesh.
Additionally, they have developed a comprehensive gender-responsive nutrition and health package designed for adolescent girls and boys.
The new BRIGHT project will engage teachers and student leaders to help facilitate access to nutrition and health services, including WIFAS programs within school settings.
To inform the project, evidence will be gathered through sex- and gender-based analyses to identify knowledge, attitudes, practices, gaps, challenges, and opportunities for improving adolescent nutrition and reducing anaemia.
Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu and the Canadian Minister of International Development Harjit Sajjan during the project launch in Dodoma said that BRIGHT was also a part of the programme of strengthening partnership between the two sides.
Where adolescent health and their nutrition health and rights intersect
Addressing journalists, the BRIGHT Project Director Raphael Maligo said that the unique project builds the interconnectedness of the two crucial aspects of adolescent wellbeing.
Malingo also noted that BRIGHT was recognizing that both, adolescent health, and nutrition, are inextricably linked and that addressing them together leads to substantial returns to adolescents’ health outcomes.
“By breaking down the barriers preventing adolescents from realizing their rights to sexual and reproductive health and nutrition, the project ensures that young people have equitable access to comprehensive and high-quality services. Adolescent girls in Tabora region are facing major challenges to their health and wellbeing,” Mr Maligo said.
According to government data, childbearing among girls aged 15-19 stands at 43 percent, while 58 percent are married early, and 71 percent have experienced gender-based violence.
Furthermore, the prevalence of anaemia among women and girls in the region is 34.5 percent, meaning a majority are at high risk of death during pregnancy or adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Adolescents account for almost a quarter of Tanzania’s population, a vibrant demographic that has immense potential to unlock social and economic development, however, much of this is impeded by lack of essential nutrition and sexual and reproductive health services.
The BRIGHT project is designed to work in close collaboration with ministries to address these pressing needs.
The BRIGHT approach is closely aligned with the Government of Tanzania’s strategic priorities as outlined in the National Accelerated Action and Investment Agenda for Adolescent Health and Well-being (NAIA-AHW).
Nutrition International is committed to working hand in hand with the government and partners to unlock the full potential of adolescents by keeping them healthy and empowered through sexual and reproductive health and nutrition services.
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