Growing up in a village in Tanzania’s Kiteto district in the Manyara region, Rachel Daudi a 19-year-old single mother of a two-year-old child, had limited knowledge of and access to reproductive health services.
In her community, it is uncommon—and often disapproved of—for young people to get information on reproductive health while still living with their parents. Rachel acknowledges that she and others like her were also unaware of ways to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.
“I didn’t know anything about family planning and sexually transmitted diseases. I first heard about it from my sister while sharing my fear of having another child immediately after. I decided to visit the district hospital to learn more,” she says.
At the facility, Rachel met Catherine Shayo, a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Afya Yangu – Mama na Mtoto trained nurse, who counseled the teenager on ways to protect herself from unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. She also encouraged Rachel to join an adolescent sexual reproductive health (ASRH) service program known as Power to Girls. Rachel agreed. In the program, she met a group of young women her age and began attending sessions on family planning, gender-based violence and other health-related topics. Today, 1,891 young women like Rachel are a part of the ASRH services program in the Kiteto district.
Catherine credits a lot of her knowledge and expertise in providing ASRH services to the training she received from the USAID Afya Yangu – Mama na Mtotoproject, which is led by Jhpiego. Afya yangu mama na mtoto is a Swahili translation that means: my health, mother and child.
“Before the project, reproductive health services were not available anywhere in our district. We had little understanding of how to attend to and manage adolescents’ cases,” says Catherine. “I have been equipped with adequate skills to provide comprehensive counseling on family planning, sexually transmitted diseases including HIV, gender-based violence and teen pregnancy—all of which posed huge risks for girls and young women in this region from reaching their full potential and realizing their dreams,” she says. “The Power to Girlsapproach … has improved my skills on adolescent issues and how to offer counseling to young people in a way that is acceptable, friendly and professional.”
Catherine is one of 16 health care providers trained by the project, which has contributed to a 2% reduction in teenage pregnancies in Kiteto district (January–March 2023 to January–March 2024).
Launched in January 2022 in Kiteto, the project uses a Power to Girls methodology to reach adolescents and young women to empower them with the right information on sexual reproductive health and life skills and to increase the power that girls have in their community. “Power to Girls helps adolescents make right decisions on issues related to their health including where to get services at the right time,” says Sion Paul, Jhpiego’s ASRH technical officer in Manyara region. The project is also collaborating with a locally led organization, Amani Girls Organization, which works to increase opportunities for children, youth and adults from socio-economically disadvantaged households in Tanzania and connects girls to the project.
Catherine is now cascading her training to other health care providers from all six health facilities in the Kiteto district, while closely monitoring the quality of services provided. A total of 26,956 adolescents and young people were reached from September 2023 to October 2024.
After joining the Power to Girls group and being counseled by Catherine, Rachel selected a family planning method that would work best for her. She has been proactive in advocating for her sexual health while taking care of her child as she plans her future.
Together with my friends, we are now regular visitors to the clinic. We come for counseling where health care providers take time to share different topics on reproductive health and overall well-being. We are happy and feel that we now have total control of our lives.”
– Rachel Daudi
USAID Afya Yangu – Mama na Mtoto is a five-year project aimed at increasing the demand for and use of quality, client-centered reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, particularly by women and youth in 11 regions in Tanzania. In partnership with the Ministry of Health, Jhpiego leads the project team, which consists of local partners Tanzania Communication and Development Center, Benjamin Mkapa Foundation, Amani Girls Organization and D-tree International.
Dominic Fortunatus is a Communication Officer in the Jhpiego Tanzania office.