The Ministry of Health and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) are seeking to strengthen their partnership to improve primary healthcare, address nutritional deficiencies and make better use of limited resources in delivering health services.
The cooperation will focus on improving service quality, tackling non-communicable diseases, strengthening child health programmes and addressing nutrition challenges, including anaemia among adolescents.
Government Chief Medical Officer Prof Bruno Sunguya said stronger coordination between the ministry and UNICEF was necessary to address technical and implementation challenges affecting the health sector.
He made the remarks in Dodoma on November 1, 2026, during a meeting with UNICEF officials to review areas of cooperation and explore ways of applying scientific evidence and technical expertise to improve healthcare delivery.
Prof Sunguya called for regular consultations between ministry officials and UNICEF specialists, saying closer engagement would help resolve technical bottlenecks and ensure agreed programmes were implemented effectively.
He also urged ministry directors to work directly with UNICEF experts in their respective areas of responsibility rather than referring every issue to senior management.
The approach, he said, would reduce delays and accelerate the implementation of joint interventions.
The discussions also examined research findings on the cost of providing primary healthcare, with participants exploring ways to improve the efficiency of existing government resources and mobilise additional funding.
On sector priorities, Prof Sunguya highlighted the need to improve the quality of healthcare, strengthen the response to non-communicable diseases, improve services for stroke patients and reduce the impact of road accidents.
Nutrition was another key area of discussion, particularly the need to address anaemia among adolescents.
Prof Sunguya emphasised the importance of involving the education sector in nutrition interventions, especially programmes targeting schoolchildren.
The meeting also considered the effectiveness of different approaches to tackling micronutrient deficiencies, including iron supplementation, improved dietary practices and food fortification.
He stressed that such interventions should be informed by scientific evidence and designed around the specific nutritional needs of different population groups.
For her part, UNICEF Health Manager Wendy Erasmus reaffirmed the organisation's commitment to supporting the Government through technical expertise in child health, nutrition, health financing and digital health.
She said UNICEF was ready to continue working with the ministry to identify practical solutions to challenges affecting the delivery of health services.
The discussions come amid continued efforts to strengthen primary healthcare and improve the efficiency of health sector spending, with closer cooperation expected to support better planning, implementation and access to quality services.