A Global Strategy with Local Impact 

Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Familia Imara (Swahili for “Strong Family”) implements proven interventions to break the cycle of abuse while strengthening family well-being and child development. 

Opening the event, Anna Wilson, Development Director at the British High Commission in Tanzania, underscored the project’s role in a broader international effort to apply rigorous evidence to gender-based violence prevention. 

“Familia Imara is one of the strategies supported through What Works 2,” Wilson said. “Today’s event brings together development stakeholders, civil society organizations, and academic institutions to reflect on what works, where evidence gaps remain, and how we can work better together.” 

The project has successfully completed its inception phase and is now transitioning into a two-year implementation period. While activities focus on the Mwanza, Mara, Dodoma, and Geita regions, Wilson emphasized that the learning and evidence generated will be shared nationally to inform broader decision-making. 

Scaling Coordination and Services 

Elfrida Kumalija, Senior Project Manager for Familia Imara at Global Communities Tanzania, introduced the project’s operational footprint, which spans 15 districts. The initiative focuses on high-level coordination with partners already active in nutrition, child development, and violence prevention. 

“Today’s meeting was an opportunity to introduce Familia Imara to partners working on related issues and to exchange ideas on how we can strengthen implementation and outcomes,” Kumalija said. “We’ve received valuable feedback and started building relationships that will be important as the project moves forward.” 

Key Program Pillars: 

• Curriculum Development: Designing family education materials to promote safety and equity. 
• Strategic Research: Conducting gender and equity studies to guide interventions. 
• Policy Alignment: Supporting MTAKUWWA (Tanzania’s National Plan to Prevent and Respond to Violence Against Women and Children). 

A Multi-Sectoral Partnership 

The project highlights the power of collaboration. Yassin Ally, Executive Director of the NGO Kivulini, noted that the organization works closely with Global Communities, the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), and Emory University in the United States. 

Together, these partners aim to strengthen families, promote improved nutrition, and ensure safe, nurturing environments for children’s upbringing. This launch marks a significant milestone for Global Communities, signaling a shift from planning to action in the mission to end violence against women and children in Tanzania.

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In Tanzania, community health workers (CHWs) are often the first point of contact for care, particularly in underserved and hard-to-reach communities — monitoring child growth, preventing the spread of disease, delivering critical health education, and connecting people to lifesaving services. Their support is also vital to achieving universal health coverage.

Although several CHW initiatives have emerged over the years to support service delivery, they have largely operated in parallel, with uneven alignment across regions and programs. As a result, many focus on only a few health areas, struggle with management and training challenges, and continue to depend on donor support. This has underscored the need for a more unified and integrated CHW approach in Tanzania, one that can serve all communities while reflecting Tanzania’s cultural and socioeconomic diversity.

The Need for a Unified, Government-Led Approach

The good news? Change is already underway. Today, the Government of Tanzania is showing what’s possible when CHW initiatives are standardized and coordinated, existing government systems are enhanced and financed, and frontline care is sustained.

In January 2024, Tanzania’s Ministry of Health, launched its Integrated and Coordinated Community Health Workers (ICCHW) Program to standardize and coordinate the recruitment, training, and deployment of CHWs, while digitizing monthly stipend payments for thousands of CHWs nationwide. Until recently, CHW onboarding and stipend payments were managed by a patchwork of public health partners, each with its own recruitment process, stipend amount, and disbursement methods. This fragmentation made it difficult for the government to track who was working, where, and whether they were receiving consistent and timely stipends for their work.

Digital Payments as a Catalyst for Inclusion and Coordination

The Digitalizing CHW Payments Program is addressing many of these challenges by building a unified, government-led digital payment platform to deliver monthly stipends to over 137,000 CHWs by 2028, with funding support from Gates Foundation. Looking ahead, the platform is designed to expand, eventually covering other categories of contracted workers such as casual laborers and other workers. Leveraging Tanzania’s growing digital public infrastructure, the platform is enhancing and enabling data exchange across existing financial, human resource, and performance management systems to facilitate CHWs registration, payroll, and stipend disbursement.

Led by the Ministry of Finance and working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Prime Minister’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government, University of Dar Es Salaam, and IntraHealth International, a Global Communities subsidiary, a cross-ministerial task force of government software developers and systems analysts is enabling the development process and setting the foundation for an efficient, scalable, and secure payment system.

This is both a technical upgrade and a systemic shift in how governments support frontline workers and advance community health delivery.

From the outset, the system was designed with inclusion in mind. Many CHWs, especially women and those in rural areas, lacked access to bank or mobile money accounts. The platform incorporates Know Your Customer (KYC) processes using Tanzania’s National Identification Number, ensuring that CHWs can be verified and paid securely. In addition, a dedicated bank account that is pre-funded by government and donor sources was established to hold stipend funds, improving transparency, and coordination.

To bring the new system to life, the team worked hand-in-hand with CHWs, facility staff, and district leaders on the design and to conduct subsequent user acceptance testing, ensuring the platform was intuitive, reliable, and responsive to local realities. Following successful trials, Tanzania has begun rolling out the digital payment platform in phases starting with ICCHWs priority regions, where transactions were validated through both mobile money and bank transfers. With sustainability and national ownership at the forefront of the process, a cadre of facilitators was trained to cascade their knowledge across districts and health facilities, strengthening the capacity of Tanzania’s health system from the ground up.

The initiative is already demonstrating how digital payments can improve government efficiency, strengthen public financial management, and expand financial inclusion for remote workers. In the months of July, August, and September, over 7,600 monthly CHW stipends were successfully processed. User training sessions were conducted across twenty-three priority districts, with two more scheduled to take place in the next month.

As a next step, Global Communities will be conducting research to generate insights on how mobile phone affordability, security, perceived benefits, digital literacy, and norms affect access to and use of digital payment systems for last mile service providers, funded by Gates Foundation. We also hope to conduct nationally representative implementation research on other aspects of the initiative to assess lessons learned and impact to support further scale up in Tanzania, as well as inform other country’s efforts.

A Replicable Model for Strengthening Community Care Systems
Tanzania’s CHW payment platform offers a replicable model for other countries seeking to better coordinate and incentivize health workers, improve accountability and transparency, and build resilient health systems. It provides a glimpse of how smart systems and committed leadership can transform everyday realities for those working on the frontlines of health.  Most importantly, it shows that financial inclusion isn’t a sideline issue — it’s a frontline strategy.

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Six years ago, I had the opportunity to visit primary schools in rural Tanzania where Global Communities was implementing a McGovern-Dole Food for Education project. As someone who has spent much of my career designing and leading integrated school meals programs, I’ve long understood that improving educational outcomes requires more than just providing meals. It means addressing the barriers that prevent students from staying in school, and one of the most pressing barriers in certain regions of the world is girls’ menstrual hygiene management (MHM).  

That visit reaffirmed what I know to be true; when schools create supportive environments for girls to manage menstruation with dignity, they are more likely to stay healthy, confident and engaged in their education. I saw firsthand how simple, thoughtful infrastructure like separate latrines, access to sanitary products and designated private spaces for girls can have a powerful impact. These aren’t optional enhancements; they are essential components of an inclusive, gender-responsive education system. 

In many parts of Central America where I’ve worked extensively, menstruation is not typically a reason for girls to miss school. But in Tanzania, it’s clear that inadequate facilities, strong cultural taboos and lack of menstrual products can lead to absenteeism, health issues and even girls dropping out of school altogether.  

These differences highlight a critical principle in our work: every school and every country’s context is different.

That’s why integrated school meals programs – which consider the whole student, not just their hunger – must be designed with flexibility, allowing for tailored approaches that respond to the unique barriers students, especially girls, face in each setting. In some regions, ensuring the availability of sanitary pads may be the most urgent need. In others, culturally sensitive education, improved water access or better infrastructure for privacy and hygiene may be the key to improving school retention.

Schools have a vital role to play in creating environments where girls can manage their periods without shame or interruption to their education. This includes providing comprehensive education about menstruation and hygiene practices, ensuring that girls can access sanitary products, such as pads or tampons, and providing clean, private and safe latrines with running water and soap.

It’s important to note that infrastructure is only part of the solution. When schools normalize menstruation and provide respectful, supportive environments, they help break down harmful stereotypes and foster gender equality. In fact, gender-sensitive infrastructure in schools often becomes a model for the wider community, showing what dignity, inclusion and respect for all can look like in public spaces.

Destigmatizing periods in schools has profound implications for health, safety, education and gender equality, and breaks down gender barriers and stereotypes.

As someone who has worked in global health and education for decades, I believe men have an important role to play in advocating for menstrual health. Reducing stigma requires all of us to speak up, support the needs of girls and women, and help shape policies and programs that reflect their realities.

My time in Tanzania confirmed what I had seen across countries: when girls are supported to manage menstruation with dignity, they stay healthier, more confident, and better equipped to succeed in school and in life.

Let’s continue to listen, learn, adapt and lead in ways that make menstrual health a priority for every student, everywhere.

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“We know these meals are the foundation to better learning opportunities and outcomes, because we’ve witnessed how they increase student attendance and attentiveness,” says Leonel Arguello, Director of Integrated School Feeding at Global Communities. “But school feeding programs offer benefits that go beyond merely providing meals. Investing in these programs actively contributes to improving the health, prosperity and quality of life within a community, leading to a better society.” 

In recognition of International School Meals Day, learn five reasons why taking hunger out of the classroom is crucial for helping students learn, thrive and build brighter futures for themselves and their families. 

1. School meals nourish young minds and bodies. 

School meals might look different depending on where they are served, but they all share a common goal: giving students the essential nutrients they need to grow and learn. These meals contain a vital mix of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals that are crucial for children’s development. Additionally, they encourage healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime. 

2. proper nutrition from school meals boosts academic performance.  

Proper nutrition is directly linked to improved academic performance. When children are well-fed, they have the energy and focus needed to excel in their studies. By ensuring that students receive nutritious meals, we are not only supporting their immediate academic achievements but also paving the way for their long-term growth and development.

3. School meals encourage regular attendance. 

For many families, the assurance that their child will receive a meal at school is a significant incentive to ensure regular attendance. This is especially important in areas where food insecurity is common, as it provides a reliable source of nutrition that might otherwise be unavailable. This consistency in education reduces the likelihood of falling behind, which in turn lowers dropout rates. 

4. School meal programs can support local economies. 

Many schools’ meal programs source food locally, which benefits both students and the community. By buying fresh and nutritious food from local farmers, these programs ensure children get the essential nutrients they need while increasing local farm income.

5. School meal programs actively engage parents. 

For over 23 years, Global Communities has seen parents step up, from providing essentials like food and clean water to engaging in reading activities at home and within their communities. Their countless volunteer hours often go unnoticed, but without them, sustainable school meal programs wouldn’t be possible. More than 69,000 parents currently support our programs, volunteering a staggering 5.5 million hours annually.  

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As a Nicaraguan, I grew up in a multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual country with a large Indigenous population. English and French were the mandatory languages in public and private schools during my school years. Sadly, we were never taught our Indigenous languages, not even simple phrases like “good morning” or “thank you.”

Linguistic discrimination is still prevalent in classrooms across Central America. Our native languages are disappearing, causing us to lose an integral part of our national heritage. Every 14 days, one of the 7,000 known languages spoken worldwide dies. By the end of this century, half of these languages will disappear.

Language bias also has negative impacts on children’s development. Numerous studies indicate that students not educated in their native languages tend to have lower learning outcomes than those who receive instruction in their mother tongues. Conversely, using a well-mastered language significantly enhances learning, particularly reading comprehension. Bilingual education also helps preserve cultural heritage and creates a bridge between the ancestral wisdom of Indigenous peoples and the global community of the 21st century, opening the doors to future opportunities within the Indigenous communities and beyond. Additionally, it contributes to community engagement in children’s education.

Global Communities has been implementing the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition programs across Central America and Africa for over 20 years. Our programs, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, provide daily nutritious meals to school-age children and take a multidisciplinary approach to improve students’ nutritional and learning outcomes. Where feasible, they integrate bilingual education to ensure that children learn to read and write effectively.

In Guatemala, for example, where 25 Indigenous languages are spoken, our UNIDOS (“United” in Spanish) project has been a beacon of hope since 2021. Implemented across 450 preschools and primary schools in the departments of Huehuetenango and Quiche, UNIDOS supports students with daily meals, school supplies and educational materials available in local languages. In addition, the program works tirelessly to strengthen teachers’ bilingual skills and provide children with literacy skills in Spanish, Mam, Q’anjob’al, Ixil and K’iche’.

In February 2024, UNIDOS conducted a study on students’ bilingual language skills. Overall, 80% of students reported using primarily the local Mayan language in their family interactions. The study also found that the use of both Spanish and Mayan languages in the classroom was positive for the achievement of biliteracy.

UNIDOS is deeply committed to enhancing the teaching of foundational literacy skills, starting with the mother tongue and then transferring these skills to Spanish. It is crucial to support teachers in using both languages in their classrooms and improves parents’ involvement in their children’s learning. Additionally, the project implements social communication activities to inform parents and communities about the benefits of bilingual education. 

On the last note, yes, I have learned the essential words in Miskito and Mayagna – two of my Indigenous languages – and promoted the learning of others to fulfill my personal and professional commitments.

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Last month, Global Communities participated in the 2024 International Food Aid Showcase at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The showcase brought together diverse stakeholders representing all segments of the U.S. food assistance value chain—from farmers to implementing partners and government agencies. At the beginning of the event, the speakers emphasized the role of U.S. producers and suppliers who deliver essential food commodities to populations facing hunger and food insecurity around the world: from beans and lentils to rice and canned fish. The panelists also spoke about the challenges of global food aid, including rising costs, time and waste, rigid cargo regulations and low waters in key ports. One speaker emphasized the vital role of women in the global quest for agricultural sustainability and food security. She noted that the United Nations General Assembly has declared 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer. This worldwide observance will not only honor women’s immense contributions to the agricultural sector, but also catalyze action to address unique barriers women farmers face.

Global Communities hosted an exhibit at the showcase, in celebration of more than 20 years of partnership with USDA. Since 2002, Global Communities has implemented 18 USDA-funded McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition (McGovern-Dole) programs and three Local and Regional Procurement (LRP) projects spanning five countries. We are now serving more than one million children with daily nutritious meals in over 3,800 schools across the world.

Our integrated school feeding approach is multidisciplinary, extending far beyond imported food aid. We promote literacy and early child development; invest in climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive agriculture; improve school infrastructure; and strengthen the capacity of local communities to gradually transition to locally owned school meal programs. Children’s health and well-being are always our top priority. In addition to improving children’s nutrition, our programs increase primary school attendance rates and improve students’ learning outcomes. Currently, Global Communities implements integrated school meals programs in Central America, Madagascar and Tanzania.

After the event, I asked my Global Communities’ colleagues who work on McGovern-Dole programs for their reflections. The following colleagues participated in the exchange: Leonel Arguello, Director of Integrated School Feeding; Chloe Pan, Associate Technical Advisor for Food Security and Gender; Christina Villarreal, Program Manager for the Americas; Colby Berry, Senior Program Officer for Africa; Daniela Lopez Echeverri, Program Officer for the Americas; and Hersona Abraham, Program Associate for Africa. The conversation was edited for length and clarity.

Paula: Thank you for representing Global Communities at the International Food Aid Showcase. What was the highlight of the event for you and how did it connect with the work you do?

Leonel: At Global Communities, we carry out comprehensive and integrated school meals programs at the grassroots levels. We collaborate very closely with USDA and local partners, and we learn from each other’s expertise. However, we have limited opportunities to engage with U.S. food producers or companies responsible for logistics of food distribution. I had the opportunity to engage with these diverse stakeholders, which is crucial for understanding the complexity of international food assistance. I also had a pleasure of meeting with USDA staff members and discussing how the McGovern-Dole Program has become more holistic and robust over the past 20 years. I am glad that school feeding continues to be a priority for the U.S. government, and I have a lot of appreciation for USDA’s highly committed staff who support the program. While there are still gaps and challenges, we are headed in the right direction.

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Hersona: Indeed, as implementers we often do not hear about the logistics of importing food commodities from the U.S. Hearing from these diverse stakeholders provided a nuanced understanding of this process. I found the discussion about canned commodities as alternatives to conventional staples like rice particularly intriguing. Overall, the speakers and exhibitors offered valuable and enlightening perspectives.

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Chloe: Several attendees I spoke with were not familiar with the holistic nature of school meals programs, and it was great to hear their positive reactions to our integrated and inclusive approach. I also appreciated the announcement of 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer.

A few years ago, Global Communities made an important decision to conduct gender and inclusion analyses at the start of each of our McGovern-Dole program to ensure that we were, at a minimum, taking gender-responsive and inclusive approaches to our activities. Mothers are actively participating in parent-teacher associations, volunteering as cooks in school kitchens, working in school gardens, and participating in savings groups supported by our programs. Yet they are still expected to manage household responsibilities and engage in income-generating activities. Recognizing these pressures, our recent projects have included activities that engage men, promote positive masculinities and involve couples in dialogues around gender equality, division of household responsibilities, joint decision-making, and involvement in children’s health and education. It has been very inspiring to see both mothers and fathers actively participating in our school feeding programs, challenging harmful gender norms, and modeling a bright future for their children.

Paula: Great observations! On your last point, Chloe, it is important to add that Global Communities’ Strategic Vision prioritizes gender integration across all programs. It also includes a commitment to develop and test an innovative approach to addressing the intersection of gender, food security and climate change. I know that investing in women farmers will be a crucial component of this approach. What are the promising trends and challenges in the food aid sector? What worries you and what sparks your hope?

Leonel: Delivering international food assistance is very complex. Many expected and unexpected challenges can arise in procuring, transporting and delivering food commodities to our communities. What sets our programs apart is a focus on sustainability. We work very closely with governments, local producers and community leaders to incorporate locally grown foods, diversify children’s diets and ultimately transition communities to locally owned school meal programs. High community participation, including from teachers and parents, always sparks my hope. In fact, the involvement of mothers – and increasingly fathers – is key to the success of our programs. As the world is changing fast, school feeding programs need to be flexible and adaptable to new circumstances. Global Communities is prepared to take on this challenge.

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Colby: One of the biggest challenges is importing USDA-donated food commodities to the countries where our programs operate. Based on our experience in Tanzania, for example, it is harder and harder to get the food delivered from the regulatory standpoint. In addition, there are many stigmas and misconceptions toward these commodities among community members we serve. It is always very important to clearly communicate to our communities that the food complies with international and local standards. It is also crucial to obtain the respective government’s sign off on the quality and fortification of the food.

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Chloe: I completely agree with Colby. Each country has different standards and priorities, and we work very closely with different ministries to ensure compliance. Thankfully, over the years, Global Communities has built strong relationships with governments and local stakeholders, so that we can navigate these challenges together and focus on delivering high quality food to the communities that need it the most.

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Christina: Yes, international food assistance can be quite political in the countries where we operate. In Guatemala, we have been implementing McGovern-Dole programs for over 12 years. A timespan this long naturally includes elections and changes in administrations. This requires a continuous effort to create and strengthen relationships at all levels of the government to implement the overall mission of USDA’s McGovern-Dole programs: food for education and child nutrition. Collaboration with the respective governments is vital to the success of school feeding programs. So is active participation of educational institutions, including school administrators and teachers. Cultivating strong partnerships with local stakeholders contributes to the sustainability and longevity of school meal interventions after we have exited a community. On the flip side, we may face delays if the community buy-in and support are not obtained early on.

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Daniela: I second what Christina has said. Collaborating with local partners for sustainable progress is essential. While importing food aid helps address the immediate needs of populations experiencing hunger, the involvement of local governments, farmers, schools and community leaders is important to achieving food security in the long run.

Paula: What can Global Communities – and our sector as a whole – do better to serve populations around the world who face hunger and food insecurity? 

Daniela: We need to get better at ensuring that our programs are truly inclusive and tailored to the needs of each community. For example, the materials we use to promote better health behaviors should be always translated to local languages. We also must do everything in our power to serve the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations.    

Leonel: We also need to keep educating policy- and decision-makers, including the U.S. Congress, about the importance of holistic approaches to food aid. Strengthening the resilience of local food systems is absolutely critical to creating a world free of hunger. We also need to keep advocating for more long-term funding to achieve these goals.  

Paula: Thank you for your thoughts and perspectives!

To learn more, please read our recent blog, School Feeding Interventions as a Tool for Addressing Child Malnutrition: Experiences from Tanzania, Guatemala and Madagascar.  

The post Igniting Children’s Potential, One Bite at a Time: Reflections from the International Food Aid Showcase appeared first on Global Communities.

Global Communities (GC) created and is utilizing an Integrated Fleet Management System (IFMS)
which optimizes fleet performance by focusing on improving users’ experience while maximizing
cost- effectiveness. Empowering and equipping the Fleet Team to achieve excellence, the IFMS is a
comprehensive collection of systems, tools, and procedures that guide the supervision of the fleet
team, the management of in-house repairs and maintenance, the execution of cashless refueling, the
deployment of a GPS location tracking systems, and the utilization of a digital real-time data
management system.

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Global Communities has worked to save mothers’ and children’s lives and improve their health and well-being since 1961. We implement integrated maternal, newborn, child health and nutrition (MNCHN) programs at the individual, family, community and institutional levels. On the supply side, we partner with governments, civil society, and frontline health workers to strengthen health systems, focusing on enhancing the accessibility, quality and equity of MNCHN services. On the demand side, we work with individuals, families and communities to increase uptake of these services; adopt improved health, nutrition and hygiene behaviors; and increase citizens’ participation in decision-making processes that shape MNCHN service delivery. We promote evidence-based interventions such as kangaroo mother care (KMC) for preterm and low birthweight babies, optimal breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM), growth monitoring, multiple micronutrient supplementation and anemia screening. Our solutions are community-driven, people-centered, and grounded in the principles of gender equality, universal access and accountability.

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