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Ungogo Participatory Development Initiative

Nijuze: The exit gateway from child marriage and pregnancies

“Nijuze” project aims to reduce child marriage by 20% in Ifakara by helping girls realize their dreams, protecting their human rights as women, and restoring their dignity.

Municipality

TZ
Ifakara, Morogoro,

Category / Sub-Category / Topic

Human development, Gender

Type of investment needed

Grant

Associated SDGs

The challenge

42% of girls in Ifakara are Child brides which predispose them to death, fistula, and scissor delivery, rob their childhood and tie them to a sustainable vicious cycle of poverty. By mainstreaming YFS in 30% of existing health facilities, by the end of 2024, Nijuze project will reduce child marriages to 20% thereby help girls realize their dreams, protect their women’s human right, restore their dignity and meet global responsibility such as SDG 3, 4 and 5.


The project

  1. Mainstream YFS in 30% of existing Health Facilities where interventions such as developing criteria for selecting Health facilities that will provide YFS, map health facilities and designate those meeting the criteria to provide YFS, Helping such facilities provide youth ASRHR education, information, and services, support such facilities in producing and or accessing and disseminating/providing youth-friendly IEC materials, designate specific staff to provide YFS, designate space/corner and time for provisioning of YFS.
  2. Build capacity of staff to provide YFS where activities such as Training staff of designated health services on YFS with special focus on ASRHR.
  3. Enhance the capacity of 5 parenting institutions to monitor and respond to youth SRHR needs. Some of the activities that will help realize this are training parents and staff from parenting institutions on the need, importance, benefit, and how to communicate with their youth on ASRHR, training parents on how to monitor and respond to ASRHR challenges, help parenting institutions create and operationalize a referrals system to YFS facilities, conduct education and awareness events targeting parents
  4. Increase youth knowledge of SRHR where interventions such as public sensitization events, in house/peer education sessions, production and dissemination of Youth friendly publications, train and facilitate youth to monitor, respond and report child pregnancies or child marriages reported and train youth on ASRHR.

Know more...

National data from The Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS) of 2016 shows that 36 per cent of women aged between 20 and 24 were married before the age of 18. There are major differences in this respect between the individual regions of Tanzania. Interestingly, the data collected for the TDHS in 2016 shows a rise in child marriages among girls aged between 15 and 19 of 5 per cent from the previous TDHS in 2010. Due to poverty, inadequate protective mechanisms, insufficient awareness-raising with regard to the problem, and traditional beliefs, child marriages are still often entered into. Teenage pregnancies in turn usually result in forced marriages, because, in the majority of cases, the girl concerned is made to marry the man who has impregnated her. The prevalence rate for child marriage to shoot up is the fear of "shame". Families fear that their good reputation could be damaged in the event of a pregnancy prior to marriage. Not least, teenage pregnancies of course also represent a cost factor. As a result, every year in Tanzania more than 8,000 child brides cut short their school careers and thus lose the opportunity to acquire a basic education. Whether the girl wants to enter into this marriage or not is irrelevant. Child brides, i.e. girls under the age of 18, are often married to much older men. In all regions of Tanzania, the bridegroom is in more than 50 per cent of all child marriages five to 14 years older than the bride. In many cases, the age difference is even greater. Such cross-generational sexual relationships always entail the risk of an imbalance of power with respect to sexual acts. There is also a high risk that the older husband may suffer from a sexually transmitted disease (STD) such as HIV, and will thus infect his young bride. In many cases, the child brides marry into existing polygamous marriages, in which they are one wife among many. They sometimes have a very weak position within the household and they are often sexually, verbally and physically abused by their husband, their in-laws and their husband's other wives. Research has shown that child brides have an increased risk of infection with STDs, such as HIV/AIDS, and that the likelihood that mother or child will die in childbirth is higher among child brides than among women who were of age when they married. The likelihood of a miscarriage, suffering from pre-eclampsia or the formation of obstetric fistulas is higher among child brides, and other pregnancy and obstetric complications are much more common.

Age, peer pressure, lack of parent’s children communication on Adolescent Sexuality, Reproductive Health Rights, coupled with outdated cultures that believe sexuality is a taboo issue denies youth comprehensive information, education and services on these matters. This is happening when parenting institutions have abandoned their roles amidst long rooted gender-blind norms and culture which do not only consider marriage as a prestige, regardless of age, but also most homes are increasingly becoming unsafe spaces for girl’s reproductive health and rights. With lack of parenting skills, poverty, and child neglect in an environment where increasingly social cohesion is eroding, children welfare is a sole responsibility of respective parents making the situation more worse thus leaving girls living in Ifakara vulnerable to child pregnancies and child marriages. This is happening when youth lack information, knowledge and education materials including necessary equipment to address ASRHR issues. It is also happening when existing Health delivery system lacks Youth Friendly Services (YFS) in terms of designated and competent staff and space to give youth privacy they desperately need.

It is this youth Ignorance on ASRHR amidst lack of YFS that has contributed to real alarming child marriage in Ifakara which stands at 42% (which is higher than the National average) and child pregnancies which stands at 27%.


  • Map Health Facilities and designated those that meet the criteria to provide YFS.
  • Help such Facilities to provide YFS-designate space/corner, time, staff, access publications, minor rehabilitation such as painting.
  • Recruit and train selected youth and women to serve as volunteers/mobilizers/influencers/ground breakers.
  • Purchase TV set and relevant educative videos, benches, flip chart stand, a desk and a chair.
  • Advertise facilities that are providing YFS using various media channels and informal networks including brochures.
  • Conduct youth friendly ASRHR education to designated staff.
  • Conduct mentorship and couching including annual retreat to the designated staff
  • Train Parents from Parenting Institutions on adult Youth Communication focusing on ASRHR.
  • Train Parents on Standard Operating Procedure for Communicating ASRHR challenges including how to provide timely referrals.
  • Create and Operationalize referral system focusing on SRHR challenges
  • Create awareness to Parents on ASRHR challenges facing youth.
  • Conduct ASRHR sensitization sessions targeting youth.
  • Produce ASRHR Publications in popular version.
  • Train Youth on how to Monitor and Respond to ASRHR challenges.
  • Train Youth on ASRHR.

Ifakara Town Council which will meet salaries of its staff (Health Facilities and those in school as part of parenting institutions and youth clubs that are under teacher’s guidance). It will also provide space, designate time, drugs and equipment including technical expertise to run YFS. It will also coordinate and oversee the whole project implementation process. The project will work with other stakeholders such as parenting institutions and media including youth themselves.



  • 17 Facilities mapped.
  • As a Pilot project 1 facility will be supported to provide YFS, 1 designated corner/rooms for YFS painted.
  • 10 youth recruited and trained serve the role of influencer/mobilizer/ground brakes/volunteer.
  • 150 adverts aired throughout the year.
  • 5 staff from 1 designated facilities providing YFS mentores/couched.
  • 30 parents from Parenting Institutions trained on Youth Communication focusing on ASRHR.
  • 25 parents trained on Standard Operating Procedure for Communicating ASRHR challenges including how to provide timely referrals.
  • A (1) referral system created.
  • 5000 brochures and 300 posters produced and disseminates/placed.
  • 15 youth trained on how to monitor and respond to Adolescence Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights challenges.
  • 30 youth reached on Adolescence Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights.

Expected impact:

  • By the end of the year in Ifakara there will be at least 30 fewer girls getting pregnant and being forced to get married and drop out of school and give up on a kind future for themselves and will be trained to be people who will build a better future for their society.
  • Awareness raising and training activities for parents will result in fewer and fewer parents pressuring their daughters into unwanted marriages, thus beginning to reduce the rate of child pregnancy and child marriage in Ifakara, Tanzania and in the rest of the country as well. 

Investment

(*): In kind/pro bonus

(**): Financing

Goods and inputs
Funds
Needed
Covered
Solicited

Help such Facilities to provide YFS-designate space/corner, time, staff, access publications, minor rehabilitation such as painting (**)

u$s 500.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 500.00

Purchase TV set and relevant educative videos, benches, flip chart stand, a desk and a chair (**)

u$s 3500.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 3500.00

Advertise facilities that are providing YFS using various media channels and informal networks including brochures (**)

u$s 1000.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1000.00

Furniture (Chairs, tables, fan,)*-Others will be contibuted by WISE and the Government to a tune of 5,000,000 (**)

u$s 873.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 873.00

Laptops (**)

u$s 1572.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1572.00

Projector (**)

u$s 1310.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1310.00

Printer (**)

u$s 349.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 349.00

Stationary and Photocopy (*) (**)

u$s 3144.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 3144.00

Fuel (*) (**)

u$s 2096.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 2096.00

Update Account software and mantanance (*) (**)

u$s 2183.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 2183.00

Services
Funds
Needed
Covered
Solicited

Introduction to relevant authorities including work permit (**)

u$s 437.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 437.00

Staff recruitment and Induction (**)

u$s 218.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 218.00

Map Health Facilities and designated those that meet the criteri to provide YFS (**)

u$s 218.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 218.00

Recruit and train selected youth and women to serve as volunteers/influencers/ground breakers (**)

u$s 218.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 218.00

Conduct youth friendly ASRHR education to designated staff (**)

u$s 2838.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 2838.00

Conduct mentorship and couching including annual retreat to the designated staff (**)

u$s 600.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 600.00

Train Parents from Parenting Institutions on adult Youth Communication focusing on ASRHR (**)

u$s 2838.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 2838.00

Train Parents on Standard Operating Procedure for Communicating ASRHR challenges including how t provide timely referrals (**)

u$s 1419.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1419.00

Create and Operationalize referral system focusing on SRHR challenges (**)

u$s 873.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 873.00

Create awareness to Parents on ASRHR challenges facing youth (**)

u$s 1500.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1500.00

Conduct ASRHR sensitzation sessions targeting youth (**)

u$s 1047.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1047.00

Produce ASRHR Publications in popular version (**)

u$s 1500.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1500.00

Train Youth on how to Monitor and Respond to ASRHR challenges (**)

u$s 2838.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 2838.00

Train Youth on ASRHR (**)

u$s 2838.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 2838.00

Baseline (**)

u$s 1500.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1500.00

Supervisory facilitative visits/reality checks inlcl meetings with stakeholders (**)

u$s 6000.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 6000.00

Final evaluation (**)

u$s 2000.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 2000.00

Auditing (**)

u$s 2620.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 2620.00

Office (**)

u$s 4716.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 4716.00

Communication including internet * (*) (**)

u$s 4716.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 4716.00

Transport staff and champions including volunteers for mobilization work (*) (**)

u$s 3144.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 3144.00

Travel cost from HQ to the field (once per quarter with a driver) (*) (**)

u$s 7860.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 7860.00

Car/motor cycle Mantanance * (*) (**)

u$s 3930.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 3930.00

Board oversight-reality check and procurement committee (*) (**)

u$s 1747.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1747.00

Water, Electricity and Office utilities (*) (**)

u$s 1965.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1965.00

Human resources
Funds
Needed
Covered
Solicited

Executive Director (25% of her time) (*) (**)

u$s 39301.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 39301.00

Program coordinator (*) (**)

u$s 34585.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 34585.00

Community organizer/ Field officer (*) (**)

u$s 23581.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 23581.00

Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist)-part time 30% of time per month (*) (**)

u$s 23581.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 23581.00

Program Accountant (*) (**)

u$s 31441.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 31441.00

Office Attendant (*) (**)

u$s 2390.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 2390.00

Volunteers (*) (**)

u$s 16978.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 16978.00

Staff Statutory obligation (18%) (*) (**)

u$s 23769.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 23769.00

Others
Funds
Needed
Covered
Solicited

Project launch (**)

u$s 873.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 873.00

DSA (*) (**)

u$s 7546.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 7546.00

TOTAL AMOUNTS:

u$s 280152.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 280152.00

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