Ifakara Health Institute

Ifakara Health Institute GENERATING EVIDENCE. TRANSFORMING LIVES. Ifakara is one of Africa’s leading centers of public health research, training and services.

🧠 CHILD DEVELOPMENT:Newborn care needs linked to later developmental risks 👶⚠️Children who needed basic emergency care a...
14/08/2026

🧠 CHILD DEVELOPMENT:
Newborn care needs linked to later developmental risks 👶⚠️

Children who needed basic emergency care as newborns may face a higher risk of developmental difficulties later in childhood, a new multi-country study in Bangladesh 🇧🇩, Nepal 🇳🇵, and Tanzania 🇹🇿 has found.

📊 Key findings include:
🔹Children who received newborn care were 4.8 times more likely to have functional difficulties
🔹 They also recorded lower average scores in IQ and school readiness
🔹 Differences in school readiness were linked to early literacy, early maths and executive function.

🔎 The findings suggest that a history of needing emergency newborn care could help identify children who may benefit from closer developmental monitoring and early support.

Researchers Dr. Donat Shamba and Prof. Nahya Salim from the Ifakara Health Institute contributed to the study.

🔗 Read more: https://ihi.or.tz/en/our-events/1275/details/

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👶🏽 CHILD DEVELOPMENT:Gaps – as early as age 2 – in 🇹🇿 poorer households 📊🧠Children from poorer and wealthier households ...
13/08/2026

👶🏽 CHILD DEVELOPMENT:
Gaps – as early as age 2 – in 🇹🇿 poorer households 📊🧠

Children from poorer and wealthier households in Bagamoyo showed similar neurodevelopmental outcomes in their earliest years. But from around age two, a gap began to emerge — with children from poorer households showing slower neurodevelopmental progress. 🧒🏽📉

A study of 590 children aged 6 months to 10 years found that the gap became more pronounced during the preschool and school years, suggesting that children growing up in poorer households may face fewer opportunities and resources that support learning and development, including stimulating home environments and access to quality early childhood education. 🏠📚🥗

Researchers say the preschool years may be a critical window for reducing these differences — through stronger early childhood programmes, support for parents and caregivers, and better access to quality education. 🎯👨🏽‍👩🏽‍👧🏽📖

The study involved researchers from Ifakara Health Institute and partners in Tanzania and internationally. 🔬🤝🏽

🔗 Read more: https://ihi.or.tz/en/our-events/1274/details/

📢 JOB:🔬 Research Officer - Dar (2 post)The Ifakara Health Institute is seeking a Research Officer for the Malaria Atlas ...
12/08/2026

📢 JOB:
🔬 Research Officer - Dar (2 post)

The Ifakara Health Institute is seeking a Research Officer for the Malaria Atlas Project in Dar es Salaam.

The candidate must have a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant quantitative field, experience in data management and analysis, strong R programming skills, and experience working with GIS and spatial data.

📌 Apply online through the Ifakara Health Institute Recruitment Portal by 17:00hrs, 23 Aug 2026

>> https://recruitment.ihi.or.tz/ihicareers/Career.aspx?ext=7&cc=jDjnpaqYiKk%3d
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🌍 MEETING: Global partners tackle violence against health workers From 10–14 August, health researchers, policymakers an...
12/08/2026

🌍 MEETING:
Global partners tackle violence against health workers

From 10–14 August, health researchers, policymakers and gender-equity advocates from across Africa are meeting in Zanzibar to address gendered workplace violence in primary healthcare-a critical issue because unsafe and unequal workplaces can affect health workers’ wellbeing, retention and ability to provide quality care..

Led by Overall Principal Investigator, Prof. Asha George, the five-year Imarisha Project brings together Ifakara Health Institute 🇹🇿, The University of the Western Cape 🇿🇦, Institut National de Santé Publique (INSP) 🇨🇲, RESADE 🇧🇫 and United Nations University Global Health 🇺🇳, with Ifakara Health Institute leading implementation in Tanzania.

🇹🇿 The IHI Tanzania team, led by Dr. Sally Mtenga, Principal Investigator and Senior Social Scientist, shared lessons from a year of research across five regions. The team highlighted the importance of trauma-informed research, confidentiality, gender-sensitive training and safe spaces for health workers to share their experiences.

🤝 The Imarisha team and partners are working together to translate evidence into action, strengthening workplace violence reporting systems, engaging health facility managers and communities, and co-designing interventions with health workers to build safer, more equitable primary healthcare workplaces where health workers can thrive and communities receive better care.

>> https://ihi.or.tz/en/our-events/1273/details/
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💉 VACCINES: Measles vaccination gaps leave children at risk in Tanzania ⚠️🧒🏽🇹🇿 A new study found that 81.5% of children ...
12/08/2026

💉 VACCINES:
Measles vaccination gaps leave children at risk in Tanzania ⚠️🧒🏽🇹🇿

A new study found that 81.5% of children aged 9–59 months received the measles-rubella vaccine during 🇹🇿 Tanzania’s 2024 campaign—but coverage varied widely across regions. 📊

📍 Njombe recorded the highest vaccination coverage at 97.4%, followed by Mbeya at 95.6%. 📈 Coverage was much lower in Pwani (61.0%) and Tabora (58.8%), 📉 falling well below the 95% level recommended to help prevent measles outbreaks and stop the spread of the disease.

🧑🏾‍🔬 Led by Hajirani Msuya of Ifakara Health Institute in collaboration with partner institutions in Tanzania, including Wizara ya Afya Tanzania, the study shows how using local data and maps can help identify communities where more children need to be reached.

Using this information can help health programmes target vaccination services and outreach where they are needed most. 🎯

🔗 Read more: https://ihi.or.tz/en/our-events/1272/details/

👶🏽NEWBORN CARE: Better neonatal data could help save lives 🇪🇹 📊📈Newborn data is widely available across health facilitie...
11/08/2026

👶🏽NEWBORN CARE:
Better neonatal data could help save lives 🇪🇹 📊📈

Newborn data is widely available across health facilities in Ethiopia, but how accurate is it – and is it being used to improve care?

A study involving Ifakara Health Institute researchers found that while basic birth data was highly complete (91–98%), the accuracy of 10 newborn health indicators ranged from just 11% to 67% when facility records were compared with national DHIS2 reports. 📉

⚠️ The challenge goes beyond data accuracy. Health facilities in Ethiopia also face gaps in staff skills, reporting tools and supervision, while data is not always used to review performance and guide decisions. 👩🏽‍⚕️🔍📝

For a country working to reduce newborn deaths and stillbirths, better data is essential to see where the gaps are, target resources and know what is working. 💡📈

🔗 Read more: https://ihi.or.tz/en/our-events/1271/details/

🌍🤝🏾 VISIT: Ifakara hosts tropical medicine trainees from the U.SOn 4 August 2026, Ifakara Health Institute welcomed medi...
10/08/2026

🌍🤝🏾 VISIT:
Ifakara hosts tropical medicine trainees from the U.S

On 4 August 2026, Ifakara Health Institute welcomed medical officer trainees from the U.S. Military Tropical Medicine (MTM) Program to our Bagamoyo Research and Training Center.

The delegation explored Ifakara’s work in malaria research, surveillance and control, with a focus on malaria parasite populations and antimalarial drug resistance in Tanzania.

🔬 During the visit, our researchers shared insights from the Molecular Surveillance of Malaria Mainland Tanzania (MSMT) programme and Therapeutic Efficacy Studies (TES), highlighting the importance of molecular surveillance and continuous monitoring to detect emerging antimalarial drug resistance.

The delegation also heard from Tanzania’s National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) on the country’s progress in reducing malaria burden and its data-driven approach to addressing emerging drug and insecticide resistance.

🧪 The visit included tours of Ifakara’s laboratories, Clinical Trial Facility, Transmission Zero Facility and Vector Control Product Testing Unit, offering the trainees a closer look at our research platforms and capabilities.

We thank the U.S.Embassy in Tanzania and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research–Tanzania (WRAIR-TZ) for facilitating this engagement and look forward to strengthening collaboration to advance scientific knowledge and global health. 🤝🏾🌍

>> https://www.ihi.or.tz/en/our-events/1270/details/
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👶 CHILD HEALTH:Study identified gaps in reporting newborn deaths 🇹🇿🔬 A new study led by Ifakara Health Institute resear...
10/08/2026

👶 CHILD HEALTH:
Study identified gaps in reporting newborn deaths 🇹🇿

🔬 A new study led by Ifakara Health Institute researcher Josephine Shabani, alongside partners, has found major gaps in Tanzania’s routine reporting of newborn deaths, raising concerns about how accurately the country can track progress in reducing neonatal mortality.

📊 Published recently in PLOS ONE, the study reviewed data from 2015–2024 and found reporting completeness of just 61.7% in regional referral hospitals and 50% in tertiary hospitals. 🏥 Only 8 of 28 regional referral hospitals reported more than 75% of expected neonatal deaths, while none of the seven tertiary hospitals reached that level.

📍 Reliable data are critical for knowing where newborns are dying, why they are dying and whether interventions are working. ❤️‍🩹 The researchers call for stronger reporting and data quality systems to help Tanzania better measure progress 📈 and strengthen efforts to save newborn lives. 👶🏾🍼💙

Read more: https://ihi.or.tz/en/our-events/1268/details/

🌾 Ifakara in the winning pavilion at farmers’ expo in Morogoro 🏆🎉Ifakara Town Council has won second place among exhibi...
09/08/2026

🌾
Ifakara in the winning pavilion at farmers’ expo in Morogoro 🏆🎉
Ifakara Town Council has won second place among exhibitors in Morogoro Region at the 2026 Farmer's Exhibition in Morogoro. 🥈👏🏽

We, Ifakara Health Institute, are proud to have been among the exhibitors in the Ifakara Town Council pavilion, contributing to the victory by showcasing how research, innovation, and technology can improve health and community development. 🔬💡❤️

Congratulations to Ifakara Town Council and all the exhibitors for this achievement!

08/08/2026

🌾 :
Taking health beyond Nane Nane 🩺💙 |

Throughout , Ifakara Health Institute teams from Heart & Lung 🫁 and the Chronic Diseases Clinic of Ifakara (CDCI) brought health screening, counselling and education closer to the community—with a focus on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and HIV. 🩺❤️

In his closing reflection, Evance Mahundi from Heart & Lung clinic shares his experience and an important message: don't wait until you feel sick to check your health.

📍 If you're in Ifakara, visit our Heart & Lung clinic for further screening, diagnosis, professional advice and care. 🔍🩺

Your health journey doesn't have to end at Nane Nane. Keep checking. Keep learning. Stay healthy. 💙

Address

Dar Es Salaam
255

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Monday 08:00 - 05:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 05:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 05:00
Thursday 08:00 - 05:00
Friday 08:00 - 05:00

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