Using a collaborative approach to address task shifting during the HIV epidemic: The Tanzania experience

Abstract

The shortage of trained health workers is particularly severe in Tanzania. Due to the health worker shortage, many nurses and midwives in Tanzania provide critical HIV services that were formerly provided by physicians. This service delivery strategy, called task sharing, is recommended by the World Health Organization, but it has not yet been formally endorsed by the Tanzanian government. Using a collaborative approach developed by the African Health Profession Regulatory Collaborative (ARC) for nurses and midwives, Tanzanian nursing leaders from four professional sectors, the ‘Quad’, along with in-country partners have successfully advocated for nursing on a number of issues important to the profession. With continued support from ARC and other partners, the Quad is working to advance task sharing in a collaborative, sustainable way, which could be an important example for the rest of the region.