International Day of the Girl Child
FAME marks this International Day of the Girl Child by raising awareness and addressing health needs affecting girls and young women, especially their access to healthcare.
In rural Tanzania, where we work, rural girls encounter numerous constraints in accessing affordable, adequate health services compared to girls living in urban areas. Household financial decision-making, disapproval of unassisted travel, long travel times and lack of prioritization of spending on girls' health are just some barriers girls face in accessing healthcare. Due to this, there is a significant value and need to increase interventions in pediatric care in rural Tanzania.
FAME plans to grow its pediatric department over the next five years. It aims to give all children, including young adolescents, safe, effective and timely healthcare for their age and stage of development. This will improve girls' health outcomes and offer much-needed continuity of care.
FAME has several programs that it already runs for girls. Through its reproductive health and family planning program, FAME provides knowledge, agency and resources to enable adolescents to make decisions regarding their reproduction. Despite child marriage being unconstitutional in Tanzania, adolescent pregnancies are common mainly due to poor sexual and reproductive health education. Childbearing increases the risk of maternal and neonatal mortality and perpetuates gender disparities in educational attainment (World Bank, 2022). In the first eight months of 2022, FAME has received nine adolescent pregnancies, the youngest being 14.
Over the years, FAME has been involved in numerous interventions to improve girls' sexual and reproductive health in our catchment area. When the Government of Tanzania rolled out the national HPV vaccination drive two years ago, FAME was instrumental in ensuring that the community HPV vaccination outreach got to not only the school-going girls in our catchment area but also the out-of-school girls. Full immunization against HPV infection reduces the chances of getting cervical cancer.
Despite these interventions, much is still needed to improve girls' lives. Click here to support FAME’s pediatric expansion, which will provide the accessibility of health service utilization among women and girls in our catchment area and help them achieve their dreams! Empowering girls and ensuring they have access to the care they need to lead healthy lives is necessary.
“I have been sick for a long time. I want to get well so I can return to school. I want to return to school and become a teacher; then, I can build a big house! This is my first time at FAME; we made the long trip because we heard that FAME cures people. I hope that FAME will give me my life back.”
-Saloni*, Age 15
“My 2-year-old son is my life; I care for him daily. He’s been quite sick the last month, so I’m happy my husband and I could afford to bring him to FAME for treatment. My life dream is for my son to be as tall and strong as his father!”
-Nataana*, Age 16
“This is my third time at FAME. I had tuberculosis, but I’m happy that I’m now better and can go back home. I do not attend school, but that's okay, as I love my home. My dream is to own a lot of cows someday and get a lot of kids!”
-Nashipai*, Age 17
“I always ensure Naisola goes to school every day unless she is sick, like today. Her brothers always go to school, so why shouldn't she? That’s why we came to FAME; the medicine here always works fast! My dream is for her to do well in school and maybe become a doctor and help our community, as in our village, we have no doctors and have to travel miles to get to one. I would be happy for her to be educated because I know she will have a good life.”
-Mama Naisola speaking on Naisola*, Age 5
*While the patients’ names have been changed to protect privacy, permission was secured to share her photos and story with FAME supporters and to raise awareness of available medical care at FAME Medical.