Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – 5th May 2025 – Amref Health Africa-Tanzania and the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a strategic partnership aimed at promoting access to primary healthcare through youth-led innovative and community-led solutions.
The agreement marks a significant step toward integrating health, research, and innovation efforts that advance Tanzania’s development priorities and contribute to the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Under this partnership, Amref and UDSM will jointly leverage their respective strengths to implement impactful programmes through the Youth for Children (Y4C) Innovation Hub, a dynamic space housed within the UDSM’s College of Information and Communication Technologies (CoICT). The Y4C Hub is dedicated to nurturing youth leadership and innovation capacity to generate social value and public goods for Tanzanian communities. The CoICT has been instrumental in driving ICT advancements and is now expanding its influence into the public health domain through this partnership.
Dr Florence Temu, Country Director, Amref Tanzania stated, “This partnership reaffirms our belief that sustainable health solutions begin within our communities by investing in young innovators as agents of change. Through Y4C, we are merging academic knowledge, community experience, and modern technology to shape the future of public health in Tanzania.”
The UDSM Vice Chancellor, who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), Professor Nelson M. K. Boniface, stated, “UDSM is committed to advancing impactful research and innovation that directly benefits society. This collaboration with Amref enables our students to contribute meaningful solutions to real-life challenges and positions them to be leaders in community transformation.”
Key Objectives of the MoU Include the following:
Promoting Universal Health Coverage (UHC) – through scalable innovations that address the root causes limiting access to primary healthcare, especially among vulnerable women and youths.
Field Placements & Research Integration – UDSM students will be part of Amref-led programmes, gaining hands-on experience while co-developing solutions to real-world challenges in community health.
Development of Open-Source Health Solutions – Co-creation and testing of digital tools and services to benefit children and marginalised populations, drawing on UDSM’s R&D capacity and Amref’s grassroots network.
Public Awareness and Advocacy – Joint campaigns to highlight innovation in public health, mobilise community support, and showcase youth-driven successes.
Entrepreneurship and Mentorship Platforms – Establishing pathways for youth-led start-ups and micro-enterprises in health innovation, supported through mentorship and catalytic funding.
The Y4C Innovation Hub will serve as a launchpad for ideas in providing a collaborative, experimental environment for students to refine concepts and receive technical guidance, with the ultimate aim of generating scalable impact in health and development sectors.
This partnership presents a unique opportunity to leverage research, innovation, and youth potential to address the social determinants of health, improve community well-being particularly among women and youthand contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Together, Amref and UDSM are investing in a new generation of health innovators committed to building resilient health systems and driving inclusive, community-led solutions to tackle Tanzania’s and Africa’s most pressing public health challenges.
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About Amref Health Africa-Tanzania.
With a focus on reaching and working with the most vulnerable African communities to achieve lasting health change, Amref Health Africa has been active in Tanzania since 1957. In 1987, the country office was established in Dar es Salaam. Since then, Amref Health Africa in Tanzania has been among the major supporters of the Government of Tanzania’s health care initiatives particularly the Ministry of Health, the President’s Office Regional Authority and Local Government. Amref has supported the development of several national health policies, strategies, and guidelines for equitable health service delivery.
Amref Health Africa in Tanzania’s projects respond to national health priorities and sustainable development goals (SDGS) by addressing the needs of needy communities, mostly women and children. We work to increase health services’ effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability by strengthening health systems, improving access to services, advocating for stronger community health systems, and influencing health policies. Amref Health Africa in Tanzania strongly supports the Universal Health Coverage Agenda.
Learn more about Amref Health Africa through www.amref.org
Press Contacts.
Eliminatha Paschal, Head of Communication & Partnerships – Amref Health Africa in Tanzania.
Email: [email protected]
About UDSM-COICT
The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is Tanzania’s oldest and largest public university with more than 35,000 students enrolled across a range of disciplines, including agriculture, education, humanities, engineering, health, sociology, economics, and law. The University has put more emphasis on industrial relationship and engagement within Tanzania and internationally to ensure that her academic programmes address current industrial needs for the continued excellence in teaching, research and public service. The UDSM community believes that a strong industrial collaboration will help to achieve her vision of becoming a reputable world-class university responsive to national, regional, and global development needs through engagement in dynamic knowledge creation and application.
The College of Information and Communication Technologies (CoICT) of UDSM was established to develop capacity and advance research and application of ICT across all sectors. Its main objective is to concentrate and accelerate UDSM efforts in the development of knowledge and practical implementation of ICT. The goal of CoICT is to become a center of excellence in the provision of higher education, research, innovation, and consultancy services in all areas of ICT to the public. The CoICT oversees the overall implementation of the Youth for Children (Y4C) Innovation Hub activities. The Hub was established to enhance the leadership and innovation capacity of young people and inspire them to create public goods and generate positive social value. The innovation hub is a collaboration space designed to foster innovation processes, exploring and experimenting with new ideas where students receive support to further inform, improve, and advance their ideas.Learn more about Youth for Children through https://y4c.udsm.ac.tz.
Contact: Dr. Joseph Cosmas Mushi, Coordinator – Y4C
Email: [email protected]