Assistant Director of Social Welfare Services from the Prime Minister’s Office – TAMISEMI, Subisya Kabuje, leading a team from Spark Health Africa and TECDEN to visit experts implementing Early Childhood Development (ECD) interventions in Bahi District Council, Dodoma
Assistant Director of Social Welfare Services from the Prime Minister’s Office – TAMISEMI, Subisya Kabuje, leading a team from Spark Health Africa and TECDEN to visit experts implementing Early Childhood Development (ECD) interventions in Chamwino District Council, Dodoma.
Assistant Director of Social Welfare Services from the Prime Minister’s Office – TAMISEMI, Subisya Kabuje, leading a team from Spark Health Africa and TECDEN to visit experts implementing Early Childhood Development (ECD) interventions in Chamwino District Council, Dodoma.
TRAINING on transformational leadership for the effective coordination of the National Integrated Early Childhood Care and Development Programme at community level has begun to yield positive results in accelerating the implementation of the programme.
The training was provided by Spark Health Africa in collaboration with the Tanzania Early Childhood Development Network (TCDEN) in support of the Government’s efforts to fast-track implementation of the programme.
The 18-month Spark Health Africa project, funded by the Hilton Foundation, aims to promote transformational leadership and cultural change at the council level, particularly in the Bahi, Chamwino, Kongwa and Dodoma City councils in Dodoma Region, with the goal of transforming how services for young children are coordinated and delivered.
Speaking after an evaluation visit, the Project Coordinator, Associate Professor Fortidas Bakuzza, said the training was conducted in 2024 and 2025 at national, regional and council levels, and has already begun to produce positive results in serving children.
“We have seen significant changes. Multi-sectoral teams are now working collaboratively, which was not common before. They are jointly serving children and developing shared plans. The achievements are substantial and the challenges are few. Every success comes with its challenges, but they are able to address them as time goes on. We are satisfied,” he said.
For his part, the Programme Director at Spark Health Africa, Tendai Gotora, commended the work done by the experts and emphasized the importance of using data in reporting.
“Data is like a mirror. If you want to see whether you are making progress or not, it is important to use accurate data. Nevertheless, good work has been done,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Assistant Director of Social Welfare Services in the Prime Minister’s Office – TAMISEMI, Subisya Kabuje, said Tanzania is in a good position in implementing the Integrated Early Childhood Care and Development Programme. She urged experts from sectors responsible for child-focused interventions to fulfill their responsibilities in order for the country to continue performing well.
“In implementing the interventions under the Integrated Early Childhood Care and Development Programme, as a country we are doing well. However, we need to do even better, especially considering that President Samia Suluhu Hassan is a champion of nutrition issues. She speaks about daycare centres in markets and has recently been appointed as Africa’s Champion for Mothers and Children. All these efforts concern the child,” she said.
Kabuje used the opportunity to thank Spark Health Africa and TECDEN for building the capacity of council-level experts, a step that has helped improve the implementation of child-focused interventions.
The representative from TECDEN, Merina Maneno, urged stakeholders to clearly indicate the progress they have made by outlining implementation indicators, as well as specifying the budget used in implementing child interventions.
On her part, the Nutrition Officer for Kongwa District Council, Maria Haule, said the council now prioritizes budgeting and allocation of funds for child interventions.
“In the past, all funds were channelled through the Health Department, which planned child-related activities without involving other departments. Now, the Council Director allocates funds for child interventions across all departments. We have set aside 1800 shillings per child above the amount allocated by the Government, and in the second quarter we spent 38 million shillings,” she said.
The Acting Head of the Pre-Primary and Primary Education Department, Agatha Ntandu, said that before the training each department used to plan its activities independently, but now they work closely together.
“For example, the Nutrition Officer now works with us to advise on the nutritional value of the food provided in schools. When issues of care and child development arise in our schools, we collaborate to address them,” she said.
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