Where We Work

Afya Plus supported the Government of Tanzania to strengthen and scale-up a comprehensive package of quality, safe Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) services for HIV prevention among adolescents and adult men in Mara region through the Tohara Plus project consortium led by IntraHealth with funding support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Afya Plus in collaboration with Mara regional health management team and council management teams has successful accelerated expansion of facilities that have integrated VMMC services into routine health care service delivery from 4 health facilities to 17 health facilities across Mara region to achieve saturation with strengthened quality assurance and data management systems. Similarly, supported provision VMMC services through both established facility and community-based outreach/satellite service delivery models; and innovative demand creation approaches which cumulatively reached 100,918 adolescent boys and men 15 years and above within WHO recommended Adverse Events reporting rate of <2%; and contributed towards HIV epidemic control. Afya Plus also through Tohara Plus project built the capacity of 249 health care workers through trainings, organized mentorships, and coaching; activated 17 quality improvement teams across Mara which substantially helped in improving the quality of HIV services in the region.

Currently, Afya Plus works with Tanzania Health Promotion Support (THPS) through Afya Hatua project that focus on delivering comprehensive facility and community-based HIV prevention, care, and treatment services for general, key, and vulnerable populations in Shinyanga region, and contribute towards HIV epidemic control with funding support from PEPFAR through CDC.  Afya Plus is mainly focusing on supporting delivery of quality and safe VMMC service for HIV prevention across six councils in Shinyanga region. We are also providing technical support on the scaling up of VMMC service to the PEPFAR/CDC supported Amref Health Africa in Tanzania-Afya Kamilifu project in Simiyu and Mara regions.  Similarly, we are implementing Community-led monitoring project called “IMARISHA’ project in Mara region under funding support from PEPFAR through the Ambassador’s Fund for HIV/AIDS Relief. The IMARISHA project is part of the PEPFAR’s client centered initiative that puts the needs and voices of communities at the center of the HIV response through integrating community-driven quality improvement solutions into the HIV programs.

Afya Plus has also integrated Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) services and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention into our programs to enhance HIV epidemic control. We are working in collaboration with the responsible Ministries, Regional Administration, and respective Council Health Management Teams to review and develop VMMC and HIV guidelines and standards; organize client-centered service delivery activities targeting hard to reach and high-risk populations; improve health workforce capacities on the provision of quality VMMC services through trainings, coaching, and mentorships. Also, strengthen quality assurance and quality improvement systems at subnational and facility level; data management and reporting systems and ensure availability of youth-friendly services; essential commodities and appropriate infrastructures for quality-of-service delivery with active community engagement.

Similarly, we have integrated COVID-19 vaccination program into our interventions to contribute to the National COVID-19 response through community based-approaches. Primarily, we focus on provision of health education on prevention, create demand, increase acceptance and uptake of COVID-19 vaccine while addressing attached barriers and community needs using core-behavioral interventions.