{"id":54481,"date":"2025-12-08T17:19:44","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T17:19:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/?p=54481"},"modified":"2025-12-08T17:23:43","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T17:23:43","slug":"digitizing-health-payments-a-new-era-for-community-health-in-tanzania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/blog\/digitizing-health-payments-a-new-era-for-community-health-in-tanzania\/","title":{"rendered":"Digitizing Health Payments: A New Era for Community Health in Tanzania"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Driving Community Health Systems Resilience Through Financial Inclusion and Smart Coordination<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Tanzania, community health workers (CHWs) are often the first point of contact for care, particularly in underserved and hard-to-reach communities \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s cultural and socioeconomic diversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Need for a Unified, Government-Led Approach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news? Change is already underway. Today, the Government of Tanzania is showing what\u2019s possible when CHW initiatives are standardized and coordinated, existing government systems are enhanced and financed, and frontline care is sustained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2024, Tanzania\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital Payments as a Catalyst for Inclusion and Coordination<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Led by the Ministry of Finance and working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Prime Minister\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is both a technical upgrade and a systemic shift in how governments support frontline workers and advance community health delivery.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s health system from the ground up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A partner planning session to bring the Digitalizing CHW Payments Program to life in Tanzania.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Replicable Model for Strengthening Community Care Systems
<\/strong>Tanzania\u2019s 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\u2019t a sideline issue \u2014 it\u2019s a frontline strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Driving Community Health Systems Resilience Through Financial Inclusion and Smart Coordination In Tanzania, community health workers (CHWs) are often the first point of contact for care, particularly in underserved and hard-to-reach communities \u2014 monitoring child growth, preventing the spread of disease, delivering critical health education, and connecting people to lifesaving services. Their support is also…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":54483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[418,324,459,366],"gc_country":[6,7],"gc_area_of_expertise":[55],"class_list":["post-54481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-chws","tag-community-health-workers","tag-partnerships","tag-tanzania","gc_country-africa","gc_country-tanzania","gc_area_of_expertise-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDigitizing Health Payments: A New Era for Community Health in Tanzania - Global Communities<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tanzania is transforming community health by unifying CHW recruitment, training, and digital stipend payments\u2014expanding financial inclusion and strengthening frontline care through a scalable, government-led system.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/blog\/digitizing-health-payments-a-new-era-for-community-health-in-tanzania\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Digitizing Health Payments: A New Era for Community Health in Tanzania - 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There we met with folks, did interviews and photographed some you people undergoing the process .Husband and Wife -.Godfrey Musibha, 47, recently underwent VMMC after hearing about through a PSA. (at their home).\u201cI knew I was HIV positive before I got the VMMC service When I found out I was HIV positive I wanted to keep my wife HIV free I am now a Lay Councilor for CDC and a village leader. I teach local community members about VMMC and how to use a condom properly. .Both my wife and I talk about feeling cleaner than before. .People I know loving with HIV I help train about prevention.\u201d Sikuwajdou Vumilia, 35, .\u201cI met him only when he came to engage me in 2003. We have a half-acre farm .When I found out he was positive I had to accept because I would have no idea where to go He didn\u2019t tell me he was going to get circumcised. I was mad he didn\u2019t tell me because why would he lie. I was happy he did it. It has had a positive impact on our sexual life. My youngest is 8 and I\u2019ll advise her to protect herself when she grows up.\u201d. January, 23, fisherman \u201cHeard about the campaign through a PSA on the radio. .I was circumcised on March 7th.Wasn\u2019t afraid because my mind was made up to do it My wife had been insisting I do it I haven\u2019t seen her since I did it, and I haven\u2019t told her about it because after she miscarried she went back to her families village and we haven\u2019t met since then My brother convinced me to do it, he said it\u2019d help reduce disease My three-year-old son has already been circumcised My wife will be happy when she finds out. .She worries because I fish at night, so she thinks I might be sleeping around but I don\u2019t. I love her after all.\u201d Nangale Ectina \u2013 (fisherman wearing checked wrapper) Khadija Butemi, 21 (Woman in red hat \u2013married couple).\u201cI convinced my husband to get the procedure. .He got it through the campaign He was frequently getting STI\u2019s and passing them on to me My husband was smelling I convinced him because I was tired of this I have seen changes in my sex life, and it feels better now too. .We have one daughter who is one-year-old. I want another but will wait another 5 years I love and respect my husband so I won\u2019t have other sexual partners. And I fear HIV.\u201d Jafer John, __ (Purple Adidas shirt - married couple).\u201cWe fisherman heard about the free VMMC services in March. We sat down together to decide .I enjoy sex more now. .Because what I learned about infections and HIV .I\u2019d like to see these kinds of services scaled up and I advocate for other fisherman .I fish twice a day and I get 1500 to 3000 per fish.\u201d. Nanzula Jactaja, 43 (Community Health Worker).Community Sensitizer on HIV and TB.In 2003 my husband died of TB and left me with four young kids.A few years after my husbands death I learned about TB and realized he had died from it In 2009 I was trained as a community health adviser.I am happy being a community health worker I had TB for 6 months last year.At first my clients didn\u2019t trust me Now people cooperate when they understand what I am doing At first I cared for 11 people and now I over see 40 people, mostly are youth I got two new clients this week and both were 18 male and female. Experamila Paulo Nangero, 45 (Nurse).In 1994 I became a midwife, and since then I have been trained by lots of organizations I only council on the procedures, but I assist the doctor For the men and boys who come for VMMC the most popular age group is 10-29 Background:.IntraHealth is working in Tanzania, bringing a CDC program that helps promote young men to become circumcised in an effort to bring better health care and prevent the spread of HIV. .IntraHealth.Namuh Media.Photos by Josh Estey., 11 May 2018.On the remote Island of Ukerewe on Lake Victoria, IntraHealth is working with local government counter parts to bring VMMC programs to the men of the community, helping to reduce the spread of HIV and improve over all health. .In the village of Namainda Itibi the local satellite health clinic is hosting IntraHealth\u2019s four-week campaign. There we met with folks, did interviews and photographed some you people undergoing the process .Husband and Wife -.Godfrey Musibha, 47, recently underwent VMMC after hearing about through a PSA. (at their home).\u201cI knew I was HIV positive before I got the VMMC service When I found out I was HIV positive I wanted to keep my wife HIV free I am now a Lay Councilor for CDC and a village leader. I teach local community members about VMMC and how to use a condom properly. .Both my wife and I talk about feeling cleaner than before. .People I know loving with HIV I help train about prevention.\u201d Sikuwajdou Vumilia, 35, .\u201cI met him only when he came to engage me in 2003. We have a half-acre farm .When I found out he was positive I had to accept because I would have no idea where to go He didn\u2019t tell me he was going to get circumcised. I was mad he didn\u2019t tell me because why would he lie. I was happy he did it. It has had a positive impact on our sexual life. My youngest is 8 and I\u2019ll advise her to protect herself when she grows up.\u201d. January, 23, fisherman \u201cHeard about the campaign through a PSA on the radio. .I was circumcised on March 7th.Wasn\u2019t afraid because my mind was made up to do it My wife had been insisting I do it I haven\u2019t seen her since I did it, and I haven\u2019t told her about it because after she miscarried she went back to her families village and we haven\u2019t met since then My brother convinced me to do it, he said it\u2019d help reduce disease My three-year-old son has already been circumcised My wife will be happy when she finds out. .She worries because I fish at night, so she thinks I might be sleeping around but I don\u2019t. I love her after all.\u201d Nangale Ectina \u2013 (fisherman wearing checked wrapper) Khadija Butemi, 21 (Woman in red hat \u2013married couple).\u201cI convinced my husband to get the procedure. .He got it through the campaign He was frequently getting STI\u2019s and passing them on to me My husband was smelling I convinced him because I was tired of this I have seen changes in my sex life, and it feels better now too. .We have one daughter who is one-year-old. I want another but will wait another 5 years I love and respect my husband so I won\u2019t have other sexual partners. And I fear HIV.\u201d Jafer John, __ (Purple Adidas shirt - married couple).\u201cWe fisherman heard about the free VMMC services in March. We sat down together to decide .I enjoy sex more now. .Because what I learned about infections and HIV .I\u2019d like to see these kinds of services scaled up and I advocate for other fisherman .I fish twice a day and I get 1500 to 3000 per fish.\u201d. Nanzula Jactaja, 43 (Community Health Worker).Community Sensitizer on HIV and TB.In 2003 my husband died of TB and left me with four young kids.A few years after my husbands death I learned about TB and realized he had died from it In 2009 I was trained as a community health adviser.I am happy being a community health worker I had TB for 6 months last year.At first my clients didn\u2019t trust me Now people cooperate when they understand what I am doing At first I cared for 11 people and now I over see 40 people, mostly are youth I got two new clients this week and both were 18 male and female. 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There we met with folks, did interviews and photographed some you people undergoing the process .Husband and Wife -.Godfrey Musibha, 47, recently underwent VMMC after hearing about through a PSA. (at their home).\u201cI knew I was HIV positive before I got the VMMC service When I found out I was HIV positive I wanted to keep my wife HIV free I am now a Lay Councilor for CDC and a village leader. I teach local community members about VMMC and how to use a condom properly. .Both my wife and I talk about feeling cleaner than before. .People I know loving with HIV I help train about prevention.\u201d Sikuwajdou Vumilia, 35, .\u201cI met him only when he came to engage me in 2003. We have a half-acre farm .When I found out he was positive I had to accept because I would have no idea where to go He didn\u2019t tell me he was going to get circumcised. I was mad he didn\u2019t tell me because why would he lie. I was happy he did it. It has had a positive impact on our sexual life. My youngest is 8 and I\u2019ll advise her to protect herself when she grows up.\u201d. January, 23, fisherman \u201cHeard about the campaign through a PSA on the radio. .I was circumcised on March 7th.Wasn\u2019t afraid because my mind was made up to do it My wife had been insisting I do it I haven\u2019t seen her since I did it, and I haven\u2019t told her about it because after she miscarried she went back to her families village and we haven\u2019t met since then My brother convinced me to do it, he said it\u2019d help reduce disease My three-year-old son has already been circumcised My wife will be happy when she finds out. .She worries because I fish at night, so she thinks I might be sleeping around but I don\u2019t. I love her after all.\u201d Nangale Ectina \u2013 (fisherman wearing checked wrapper) Khadija Butemi, 21 (Woman in red hat \u2013married couple).\u201cI convinced my husband to get the procedure. .He got it through the campaign He was frequently getting STI\u2019s and passing them on to me My husband was smelling I convinced him because I was tired of this I have seen changes in my sex life, and it feels better now too. .We have one daughter who is one-year-old. I want another but will wait another 5 years I love and respect my husband so I won\u2019t have other sexual partners. And I fear HIV.\u201d Jafer John, __ (Purple Adidas shirt - married couple).\u201cWe fisherman heard about the free VMMC services in March. We sat down together to decide .I enjoy sex more now. .Because what I learned about infections and HIV .I\u2019d like to see these kinds of services scaled up and I advocate for other fisherman .I fish twice a day and I get 1500 to 3000 per fish.\u201d. Nanzula Jactaja, 43 (Community Health Worker).Community Sensitizer on HIV and TB.In 2003 my husband died of TB and left me with four young kids.A few years after my husbands death I learned about TB and realized he had died from it In 2009 I was trained as a community health adviser.I am happy being a community health worker I had TB for 6 months last year.At first my clients didn\u2019t trust me Now people cooperate when they understand what I am doing At first I cared for 11 people and now I over see 40 people, mostly are youth I got two new clients this week and both were 18 male and female. Experamila Paulo Nangero, 45 (Nurse).In 1994 I became a midwife, and since then I have been trained by lots of organizations I only council on the procedures, but I assist the doctor For the men and boys who come for VMMC the most popular age group is 10-29 Background:.IntraHealth is working in Tanzania, bringing a CDC program that helps promote young men to become circumcised in an effort to bring better health care and prevent the spread of HIV. .IntraHealth.Namuh Media.Photos by Josh Estey., 11 May 2018.On the remote Island of Ukerewe on Lake Victoria, IntraHealth is working with local government counter parts to bring VMMC programs to the men of the community, helping to reduce the spread of HIV and improve over all health. .In the village of Namainda Itibi the local satellite health clinic is hosting IntraHealth\u2019s four-week campaign. There we met with folks, did interviews and photographed some you people undergoing the process .Husband and Wife -.Godfrey Musibha, 47, recently underwent VMMC after hearing about through a PSA. (at their home).\u201cI knew I was HIV positive before I got the VMMC service When I found out I was HIV positive I wanted to keep my wife HIV free I am now a Lay Councilor for CDC and a village leader. I teach local community members about VMMC and how to use a condom properly. .Both my wife and I talk about feeling cleaner than before. .People I know loving with HIV I help train about prevention.\u201d Sikuwajdou Vumilia, 35, .\u201cI met him only when he came to engage me in 2003. We have a half-acre farm .When I found out he was positive I had to accept because I would have no idea where to go He didn\u2019t tell me he was going to get circumcised. I was mad he didn\u2019t tell me because why would he lie. I was happy he did it. It has had a positive impact on our sexual life. My youngest is 8 and I\u2019ll advise her to protect herself when she grows up.\u201d. January, 23, fisherman \u201cHeard about the campaign through a PSA on the radio. .I was circumcised on March 7th.Wasn\u2019t afraid because my mind was made up to do it My wife had been insisting I do it I haven\u2019t seen her since I did it, and I haven\u2019t told her about it because after she miscarried she went back to her families village and we haven\u2019t met since then My brother convinced me to do it, he said it\u2019d help reduce disease My three-year-old son has already been circumcised My wife will be happy when she finds out. .She worries because I fish at night, so she thinks I might be sleeping around but I don\u2019t. I love her after all.\u201d Nangale Ectina \u2013 (fisherman wearing checked wrapper) Khadija Butemi, 21 (Woman in red hat \u2013married couple).\u201cI convinced my husband to get the procedure. .He got it through the campaign He was frequently getting STI\u2019s and passing them on to me My husband was smelling I convinced him because I was tired of this I have seen changes in my sex life, and it feels better now too. .We have one daughter who is one-year-old. I want another but will wait another 5 years I love and respect my husband so I won\u2019t have other sexual partners. And I fear HIV.\u201d Jafer John, __ (Purple Adidas shirt - married couple).\u201cWe fisherman heard about the free VMMC services in March. We sat down together to decide .I enjoy sex more now. .Because what I learned about infections and HIV .I\u2019d like to see these kinds of services scaled up and I advocate for other fisherman .I fish twice a day and I get 1500 to 3000 per fish.\u201d. Nanzula Jactaja, 43 (Community Health Worker).Community Sensitizer on HIV and TB.In 2003 my husband died of TB and left me with four young kids.A few years after my husbands death I learned about TB and realized he had died from it In 2009 I was trained as a community health adviser.I am happy being a community health worker I had TB for 6 months last year.At first my clients didn\u2019t trust me Now people cooperate when they understand what I am doing At first I cared for 11 people and now I over see 40 people, mostly are youth I got two new clients this week and both were 18 male and female. Experamila Paulo Nangero, 45 (Nurse).In 1994 I became a midwife, and since then I have been trained by lots of organizations I only council on the procedures, but I assist the doctor For the men and boys who come for VMMC the most popular age group is 10-29 Background:.IntraHealth is working in Tanzania, bringing a CDC program that helps promote young men to become circumcised in an effort to bring better health care and prevent the spread of HIV. .IntraHealth.Namuh Media.Photos by Josh Estey."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/blog\/digitizing-health-payments-a-new-era-for-community-health-in-tanzania\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Digitizing Health Payments: A New Era for Community Health in Tanzania"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/","name":"Global Communities","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/#\/schema\/person\/5dde8f13ae184d5e9dc29541ed64ca02","name":"Jessica Ayala","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/785907df9703e02a4268bd1364b2a844ed9cbfcabe309dfeb10121fc40a210bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/785907df9703e02a4268bd1364b2a844ed9cbfcabe309dfeb10121fc40a210bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jessica Ayala"},"url":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/author\/jayala\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54481"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54494,"href":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54481\/revisions\/54494"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54481"},{"taxonomy":"gc_country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gc_country?post=54481"},{"taxonomy":"gc_area_of_expertise","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gc_area_of_expertise?post=54481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}