By Wema Kamuzora, Francisca Pratap (CIHEB Tanzania) and Ronald Ng’eno Outside the home of Francis, a traditional healer, a thatched shelter made from wooden poles offers welcome shade. It serves as a waiting area where patients sit, chatting with neighbors or...
The Afya Call Center (199 hotline) is a well-established and credible platform for health-related inquiries across Tanzania. Operated by the Ministry of Health (MoH) on a scalable, 24/7 toll-free system accessible via feature phones, it allows individuals to connect...
Zubeida* thought her child was being stubborn. For years, her child wet the bed, long past the age when he should have stopped. She tried to correct it the only way she knew how, scolding him and sometimes even beating him, hoping it would force a change. But nothing...
In Zanzibar, Tanzania, Rayuu Kombo now walks in her community with a stronger purpose. As a Community Health Worker, she is visiting households, checking on mothers and children, looking for danger signs and helping families seek care earlier. This shift is part of a...
Explore how strengthened laboratory transport systems are helping DRC, Guinea, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda detect outbreaks faster, improve sample quality and strengthen preparedness.
Discover how National Telehealth Communities of Practice are uniting governments and innovators to build connected, accessible health care systems across Africa.
Telehealth is no longer a luxury. For an island like Zanzibar, a call center serves as a vital bridge, connecting families to life-saving health services. The Zanzibar Afya Call Center is a toll-free hotline (115) where people can call trained health workers for...
The Lab Sample Transport (PLST) for Polio Eradication program is a critical global health initiative launched in early 2022 to drastically improve the speed and quality of polio sample delivery from communities and health facilities to testing laboratories. This...
In 2025, Tanzania’s Ministry of Health completed a comprehensive evaluation of the Afya Call Center, the nation’s 24/7 health hotline. Afya is a critical public health platform for providing real-time medical advice, referrals and a safe space for community feedback....
