Whether waiting for a laboratory result or calling for health advice, we all need answers that help us take the next step for our health. Providing those answers requires health workers, reliable information and connected services. Much of that work happens behind the scenes: checking supply records, arranging transportation for samples and making sure communities can get connected to the help they need.
Over the past decade, VillageReach has worked with the government and local partners in Tanzania to strengthen these connections across the mainland and Zanzibar, helping more people access health information and care.
From supply chain support to broader partnerships
VillageReach began work in Tanzania in October 2016 through the USAID-funded Global Health Supply Chain Technical Assistance project, led by Guidehouse. Working with partners, VillageReach focused on health supply chain data and information systems. During that period, VillageReach’s work also expanded into laboratory sample transport and work in telehealth, community engagement and outbreak preparedness. These activities helped build direct relationships with government teams and local partners. VillageReach now participates in Ministry of Health meetings and technical working groups on the mainland and in Zanzibar.
Connecting care to communities
Four complementary areas show how this work supports the decisions and services people depend on:
1. Information for better supply decisions
Through the 2016-2024 supply chain project, VillageReach supported the electronic Logistics Management Information System, or eLMIS, which was used to order and report commodities for reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health; HIV/AIDS; laboratory services; malaria and essential medicines.
Working with the Ministry of Health and the then-President’s Office–Regional Administration and Local Government, or PO-RALG, which coordinates regional and local government administration, the consortium supported national supply chain performance indicators and routine data quality assessments. In 2020, VillageReach contributed to orienting regional pharmacists and laboratory technologists on the national indicators. These tools gave teams a common basis for checking reports and monitoring supply chain performance.
2. Getting samples to laboratories
Collecting a sample is only the first step in a patient’s search for answers. From October 2022 to March 2024, VillageReach led the Gates Foundation-funded Polio Laboratory Sample Transport project in Tanzania. CIHEB Tanzania, a locally led nonprofit and the main implementing partner, worked with government teams to improve sample transport and surveillance.
During this period, a sample transport pilot in Tabora province helped address transport delays. From December 2023 to February 2024, environmental samples took an average of 2.5 days to reach the national level, compared with 4.6 days at baseline. Support for dedicated processing and packaging also helped increase shipments to the Uganda Virus Research Institute from twice weekly to daily.
Building on that experience, the Integrated Laboratory Transport Systems to Stop Outbreaks program began in Tanzania in February 2025 and is scheduled to run through December 2026. Funded by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s Global CSR Program, it is led by VillageReach, with CIHEB Tanzania as the main implementing partner on the ground.
Dr. Abubakar Maghimbi, CEO of CIHEB Tanzania, recalls how assigning a laboratory technician to process and package samples helped address delays at the national laboratory in Mabibo.
“There was a backlog there,” Dr. Abubakar says. “By the end of that project, there was no backlog.”
As of August 2026, the program had supported transport of 3,592 laboratory samples from Katavi and Tabora. It also supported procurement of 15 temperature-monitoring devices to help teams check conditions during transport and protect sample quality.
A community health worker meets with a traditional healer in Chuini, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Photo credit: Divine Lubavu
3. Health advice and response to feedback
VillageReach’s telehealth support has included training materials, outbreak information guides, standard operating procedures and operational planning for mainland Tanzania’s Hotline 199 and Zanzibar’s Hotline 115. Under the Takeda-funded initiative, VillageReach and CIHEB Tanzania also support agents’ ability to advise callers about outbreak-prone diseases.
From January to July 2025, funding from the Endless Foundation supported VillageReach’s work with the Ministry of Health to evaluate the mainland Afya Call Center’s complaints and feedback system. The Community Insights to Action evaluation examined how concerns were collected, analyzed, acted on and communicated back to callers.
The volume of calls highlights why effective follow-up matters. In an August 2025 interview, Saidi Mtengule, the call center supervisor reported that agents handled an average of 3,000 calls per day, while the automated interactive voice response (IVR) system handled more than 10,000 calls daily. To help the center respond more effectively to this demand, the evaluation examined gaps in public awareness and follow-up, informing workshops to develop practical improvements and a costed implementation roadmap.
In Zanzibar, VillageReach worked with the Ministry of Health and partners in September 2025 to develop a five-year telehealth strategy for Hotline 115, setting out a path toward more sustainable services.
4. Helping families recognize when to seek care
Alongside sample transport, the Takeda-funded initiative supports community health workers and local leaders to recognize warning signs, address vaccination concerns and encourage early care-seeking.
In Zanzibar, community health worker Rayuu Kombo describes how training changed her routine. She visits households regularly, checks children’s vaccination records and refers people with concerning symptoms to health facilities. Her experience shows what stronger surveillance can mean for a family: support to recognize a concern and help to act.
A community health worker shares health information during a home visit in Mpanda, Katavi region, Tanzania. Photo credit: Divine Lubavu
Sustaining progress through local leadership
For Tanzania country lead Wema Kamuzora, sustaining this work depends on government ownership and community involvement.
“Early and meaningful engagement of government stakeholders is critical for securing buy-in, fostering ownership and ensuring the sustainability of interventions,” Kamuzora said. “Lasting health improvements are most sustainable when they are shaped by the communities they serve, supported by responsive systems and driven by innovation and collaboration.”
Watch Wema talk about the type of health investments that work in Tanzania.
The next chapter
The immediate task is to build on the work already underway. The Tanzania laboratory transport program is scheduled through December 2026, while the call center evaluation and telehealth planning provide practical recommendations for government and partners to take forward.
Looking ahead, our work in Tanzania will continue to be guided by local leadership, adaptability, equity and meaningful partnership. By building on these foundations together, we can help more people access the information and care they need, supporting Tanzania’s journey toward universal health coverage.