In 2018, the Evidence to Action (E2A) Project and Pathfinder International Tanzania launched an initiative focusing on young first-time parents (FTPs) in the Greater Mahale Ecosystem of Tanzania as a new component of the Tuungane Population, Health, and Environment (PHE) project.
Since 2011, Tuungane has been working in partnership with the Government of Tanzania in extremely remote, marginalized, and vulnerable communities to tackle some of their most complex development challenges, including access to voluntary family planning (FP) services. Noting patterns of early childbearing and low contraceptive use among young people in the Kigoma and Katavi regions where Tuungane operates, E2A and Pathfinder Tanzania saw an important opportunity for the project to add a new component that advances healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy (HTSP), FP, and social support for FTPs—defined as women under 25 years who are pregnant with or have one child and their partners.
Implemented in a subset of project health facilities and communities, the Tuungane FTP component generated valuable evidence and insights about this vulnerable youth population and how best to respond to their HTSP/FP needs.
