Tanzania

This page was developed in November 2024 with a collection of in-country GISP partners. It was designed to provide a snapshot of key policies, guidelines, stakeholders, resources, and more so that implementers, donors, and decision makers have a place to find out what has been done and who they can connect with to learn more as they plan and carry out parent and caregiver support interventions. If you have updated information that you wish to see reflected on this page, please contact info@support-parents.org.

Country Snapshots on Parent and Caregiver Support > Tanzania

Population information

  • Total population estimate: 62 million (source: Tanzania Census 2022)
  • 9.5 million children under 5 years old
  • 7.2 million children 5 to 8 years old
  • 13.6 million children 9 to 17 years old
  • 49% of the population is under 18 years old

Enabling environment

  • Tanzania adopted the Child Development Policy in 2008 to protect children from abuse, exploitation, and neglect. It states a goal to have families prepared to support child development through education and integrated services.
  • The government developed a strategy on responsible parenting and family care in 2019, which is now known as Familia Bora, Taifa Imara. It simplifies parenting in the three key pillars of Care, Protect, and Communicate. The Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Women, and Special Groups takes the lead on implementing the strategy.
  • The Law of the Child Act was revised in 2019. It contains the right to grow up with parents and describes parental duties and responsibilities. 
  • The National Plan of Action to End Violence Against Women and Children was updated in 2024 and sets out strategies to support parents and families. The Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Women, and Special Groups oversees the plan.
  • A national multisectoral parenting coordination group is working towards developing a coordination framework for tracking data and fostering connection between parenting implementers.
  • In November 2024, the government made a pledge related to increasing parent and caregiver support and other themes during the Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children. It aims to:
    • Create an environment that enables children to access protected early childhood programmes, fostering their full development and their full potential. In collaboration with development partners, the Government plans to allocate 3,783,088,611 Tanzanian Shillings to roll out positive parenting groups from 3,963 to 24,638 by 2029 all over the country.

PARENTING ACTORS

Note: GISP has neither reviewed nor is it endorsing any of the interventions below. They are included to showcase the diversity of actors supporting parents and to encourage collaboration and resource sharing. The interventions listed may no longer be active but can serve as examples or reference points.

In-person delivery modality

Implementing Organization
Program Description
Target Group

Catholic Relief Services Tanzania

The Integrating Mother-Baby Course into Early Childhood Development Project is based on principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy and attachment theory and attempts to change a person’s cognition (thought) and behaviors to improve their mood. The Mother-Baby course has three main components: pleasant activities, contact with others, and thoughts. It is carried out through group sessions and household visits.

Pregnant and lactating women with children under age 2

Global Communities

Engaging Fathers for Effective Child Nutrition and Development in Tanzania (EFFECTS) bundles behavior change messages and activities that strengthen the capacity of mothers and fathers to provide optimal care for young children.

Fathers and mothers of children ages 0 to 18 months

Parenting for Lifelong Health

The Furaha Teens program aims to reduce adolescent exposure to violence by improving positive parenting and parent-child communication while reducing family conflict, harsh discipline, parenting stress, risky behavior, and poor mental health.

Parents and their adolescents ages 10 to 17

Save the Children Tanzania

The Tuwekeze Pamoja (Let’s Invest Together) project is designed to improve children’s learning outcomes by providing a continuum of support for young children to ensure their physical, socio-emotional, cognitive development, and learning needs are met. This is done by strengthening caregivers’ attitudes, knowledge, and practices, including parenting without violence through group parenting sessions.

Parents of children under age 6

SOS Children’s Villages

SOS Children’s Villages provides education for family members of children in alternative care so that they can learn how to be more responsive to the needs of children.

Caregivers of youth ages 0 to 18 in alternative care, living on the street, and in displaced/refugee settings

World Vision International

Celebrating Families is a model implemented across several countries that uses faith and reflexive principles to nurture positive and loving relationships within the family and restore hope for the future. Starting with a series of reflective workshops, community groups including faith communities are mobilized to challenge harmful behaviors affecting children. The faith-based approach targets deep-seated cultural norms or value-based belief systems that are rooted in faith and/or reinforced by religion.

Parents of children of all ages

Remote delivery modality

Implementing Organization
Program Description
Target Group

British Broadcasting Corporation Media Action (BBCMA)

Safari ya Malezi (“A Parenting Journey” in Kiswahili) is a national and local radio program developed with UNICEF that aims to improve parents’ knowledge, understanding, and behavior related to positive, supportive parenting and childcare. The shows aims to support fathers to engage more in responsible parenting practices, help parents and caregivers to communicate more effectively with children, and help them understand how and why to prevent violence against children.

Parents of children ages 0 to 18

Parenting for Lifelong Health

ParentApp for Teens is the first offline-accessible, open-source, evidence-based parenting app to be designed and rigorously tested in low-resource settings. It is designed to complement in-person program delivery and can be used as a self-led option or delivered through a hybrid human-digital approach. It aims to deliver free evidence-based parenting support and child abuse prevention in multiple languages and an adaptable design.

Parents of children ages 10 to 17

resources

News, publications, and program materials from parenting actors

 Data and evidence