Advancing the Integration of Family Planning and Reproductive Health into Climate Change Policies and Programming in Tanzania
Tanzania climate policies need to integrate family planning and reproductive health.
Tanzania faces significant challenges related to population growth and the impacts of climate change, which intersect with health and development goals. While various national strategies and plans recognize these challenges, there are gaps in addressing them comprehensively.
These include integrating family planning (FP) and reproductive health (RH) interventions and addressing the implications of population growth within climate change and health strategies. Furthermore, climate financing in Tanzania remains heavily reliant on donors, with limited allocation to health interventions.
Policy analyses by the USAID-funded Building Capacity for Integrated Family Planning/Reproductive Health and Population, Environment and Development Action (BUILD) project however recommends that the Tanzania’s Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with NGOs, development partners, and civil society organizations integrate population dynamics, family planning/reproductive health (FP/RH), gender, and youth concerns into climate change policies, strategies, and plans.
A key opportunity lies in incorporating these issues into the new Health National Adaptation Plan (HNAP) 2024-2030, which is under development. Additionally, the MoH, alongside CSOs and other stakeholders, are urged to ensure FP/RH is considered during the review of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and National Climate Change Response Strategy.
To further climate governance, the MoH is advised to play a prominent role in climate change negotiations, both nationally and internationally. By allocating budgets for participation in major climate events such as COP conferences, the BUILD project envisions that the MoH can advocate for policies that address climate-related health risks. The government is also encouraged to strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration, establish budgetary guidelines for climate-resilient health systems, and invest in capacity building, particularly among youth, to enhance their role in climate change actions.
Year: 2024
Source: The BUILD Project
