The 12th Tanzania Health Summit

From 1st–3rd October 2025, the Prime Health Initiative Tanzania (PHIT) proudly participated in the 12th Tanzania Health Summit, held at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre in Dar es Salaam. The summit brought together more than 2,000 policymakers, researchers, implementers, and development partners to advance solutions for strengthening Tanzania’s health system. PHIT’s participation stood out through the presentation of high-impact findings from the Mlinde Mama project, an innovative digital health and AI-driven initiative designed to improve maternal health outcomes in low-resource settings.

Showcasing Evidence for Impact

PHIT contributed three scientific presentations highlighting critical insights from implementation in the Geita region:

• Missed Opportunities in Antenatal Screening
  Dr. Hamid Mandali presented compelling evidence on gaps in antenatal screening coverage at first contact in routine public health facilities. The findings underscored the need to strengthen supply chains for essential ANC tests, enhance provider training, and improve adherence to national guidelines. The study emphasized that improving data quality, supervision, and accountability systems is essential for achieving comprehensive maternal screening.
• Perspectives on Group Antenatal Care (G-ANC)
  Alen Kinyina shared qualitative insights from women, healthcare providers, and health managers on the implementation of Group Antenatal Care. The study highlighted that adequate infrastructure, skilled facilitation, and integration into national policies are key drivers for improving service quality and scaling G-ANC across Tanzania.
• AI and Digital Health for Early Risk Detection
  Isaac Lyatuu presented innovative work on leveraging machine learning models for early detection of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. Drawing from phit_user-world data in low-resource settings, the findings demonstrated the potential of AI-enabled tools like Mlinde Mama to identify high-risk pregnancies earlier and support timely clinical decision-making.

Driving Systems-Level Change

Across all presentations, a consistent message emerged: technology alone is not enough. Sustainable impact requires a systems approach—combining digital innovation with strengthened health systems, workforce capacity, supply chains, and governance.

The Mlinde Mama platform exemplifies this integrated model by combining:

• AI-powered risk stratification
• Group antenatal care (G-ANC) delivery models
• Community and facility-level data systems
• Decision-support tools for providers

Positioning Tanzania as a Leader in Digital Maternal Health

PHIT’s contributions positioned Tanzania as a leader in applying digital health and AI to maternal care in Africa. The evidence generated not only informs national policy and program design but also provides a scalable model for other low-resource settings.

Looking Ahead

Participation in the Tanzania Health Summit reaffirmed PHIT’s commitment to:

• Advancing evidence-based maternal health interventions
• Supporting national health system strengthening efforts
• Scaling innovative, locally grounded digital solutions

As Tanzania continues its journey toward reducing maternal mortality, initiatives like Mlinde Mama demonstrate that integrating innovation with strong health systems can unlock transformative impact at scale.