Maimuna's Story: Tanzania National Voucher Scheme (TNVS) Protects a Mother and Her Children
Originally submitted by the Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA)
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| Maimuna and her youngest daughter, Zainab, wait in line outside the Lukokoda Clinic in Tandahimba district of Mtwara region, Tanzania. Source: MEDA | |
Maimuna is 25 years old and lives with her husband and three children in Lukokoda village, located in Tandahimba district of Mtwara region in southern Tanzania. At the Lukokoda Clinic, she recently met staff from Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) and told them about her experience with Hati Punguzo (HP) vouchers for pregnant women and infants, which can be exchanged for insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs). The vouchers are issued, with assistance from MEDA, under the PMI-supported Tanzania National Voucher Scheme (TNVS) of Tanzania's national malaria control program. In Tanzania, as in most of sub-Saharan Africa, malaria is the leading cause of death and sickness, killing well over 1 million people every year, the majority of them pregnant women and infants.
Maimuna did not use an ITN during her first two pregnancies, and she was sick with malaria much of the time. When she went to the clinic during her third pregnancy, she received an HP pregnant woman voucher, which she used to help purchase an ITN. After that she didn't have any problems with malaria. Her third child, Zainab Billah, is now nine months old and ready for her measles vaccination. Upon bringing Zainab to the clinic for the vaccination, Maimuna will receive an HP infant voucher to use toward the purchase of a second ITN. This will ensure Zainab's protection for years to come.
“… I am so happy with this program. HP helped me and my family not to get malaria …”
The President’s Malaria Initiative provides support to the TNVS for the HP infant voucher. The program is implemented through a partnership of MEDA, World Vision, and Population Services International, and operates in all 21 regions of mainland Tanzania. It began issuing pregnant woman vouchers in 2004. The program quickly grew, and the infant voucher was added in 2006. As a result, mothers like Maimuna and their children can now afford to protect themselves against this deadly disease. The TNVS also receives support from the Global Fund to Fight Tuberculosis, AIDS and Malaria.