Explaining progress towards Millennium Development Goal 4 for child survival in Tanzania

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Child Survival
• Public Health Interventions

Background:

• Tanzania implemented child survival initiatives during the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) era (1990-2015).
• Learning from MDG successes and challenges is crucial for the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) era.
• Key strategies included the One Plan for Maternal Newborn and Child Health (2008-2015) and a "sharpened" strategy in 2014.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze trends in child survival and nutritional status in Mainland Tanzania from 1999 to 2015.
• To assess the coverage of 22 maternal, newborn, child health and nutrition (MNCH&N) interventions.
• To model the impact of these interventions on under-5 child mortality using the Lives Saved Tool (LiST).

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from six nationally-representative household surveys (1999-2015).
• Examined trends in 22 MNCH&N interventions, stunting, wasting, and breastfeeding practices.
• Applied the LiST model to estimate lives saved nationally and sub-nationally across seven geographic zones.

Main Results:

• Child survival and nutritional status improved across Mainland Tanzania and all seven zones.
• Coverage of MNCH&N interventions varied significantly, with some declining over the study period.
• The LiST model estimated that 838,460 child lives were saved nationally between 2000 and 2015 due to intervention scale-up and improved nutrition.

Conclusions:

• Mainland Tanzania achieved substantial progress in child survival and nutrition.
• Improvements were not solely attributable to changes in intervention coverage.
• Further research into implementation and contextual factors is vital for accelerating progress in the SDG era.