Korea-Backed Health Project Reduces Maternal Deaths in Dodoma 

Healthcare services in Tanzania’s Dodoma Region have improved through a five-year maternal and newborn health project funded by the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH). These improvements have contributed to a decline in maternal deaths in the Kongwa and Mpwapwa districts. 

The TSh7.26 billion initiative aimed to improve emergency obstetric and newborn care by upgrading health facilities, strengthening emergency services and expanding community health programmes. According to Dodoma Regional Reproductive and Child Health Coordinator Nice Moshi, maternal deaths fell to two in each of the two districts in 2025, compared with seven in Kongwa and six in Mpwapwa the previous year.  

The project improved healthcare infrastructure by installing backup generators at nine health facilities to ensure reliable electricity, supporting blood donation campaigns that collected 7,566 units of blood, and constructing or upgrading key medical facilities. These included a maternity and theatre block at Rudi Health Centre, laboratory buildings, paediatric wards, staff housing, a reproductive and child health block, walkways, the completion of maternity facilities at Ipera Health Centre, and the renovation of the neonatal unit at Kongwa District Hospital. Community outreach programmes also reached more than 9,300 women with information on antenatal care, safe delivery, postnatal care, and recognising pregnancy complications, while reproductive health education was provided in 57 schools to help reduce teenage pregnancies.  

Speaking at the project’s final review meeting, KOFIH Country Representative Gyeongbae Seo said the initiative had strengthened health systems in the two districts and supported progress towards the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. Dodoma Regional Commissioner Rosemary Senyamule credited the project with improving healthcare delivery in the region and called for the continued maintenance of the new infrastructure, sustained blood donation campaigns, and the effective deployment of healthcare workers trained through the programme to ensure the gains achieved are maintained.