Tanzania: Regionalization Facilitates Treatment Scale-Up (April 2007)

	TANZANIA   At the Mawenzi Regional Hospital in Kilimanjaro, an   Emergency Plan partner organization is working under the   new regionalization strategy to provide antiretroviral   treatment to HIV-positive men, women and children.		Tanzania: Regionalization Facilitates Treatment Scale-Up In March 2003, the Tanzanian Ministry of Health developed the National Care and Treatment Plan for HIV/AIDS for 2003-2008, setting forth ambitious goals for providing antiretroviral treatment (ART). The U.S. Government, through PEPFAR, is working in partnership with the Government of Tanzania to meet these goals. A new approach, known as “regionalization,” was developed in conjunction with the National AIDS Control Program and redistributes partners with the goal of ensuring that only one partner operates within any given region, reducing duplication of efforts. Regionalization gives each partner sole, region-wide responsibility for providing antiretroviral treatment in all hospitals and clinics – whether public, private, or faith-based. The regionalization model is being implemented throughout Tanzania. Challenges remain, and the physical re-orientation of partners to new areas will need to be carefully managed. Ultimately, it is hoped that the regionalization of antiretroviral treatment services under the National Care and Treatment Plan will lead to a more effective and better coordinated response.