Afya-Tek

Afya-Tek

Putting People at the
Heart of Healthcare

At D-tree, we believe that no matter who you are or where you live, you have right to high-quality healthcare. Afya-Tek envisions a primary healthcare system in Tanzania that acts together as one, digitally linking communities with healthcare providers to improve the quality of care for everyone.

Healthcare
in Fragments

In Tanzania, community health workers and local private drug shops are on the front lines of healthcare and are often the first point of care. Together with health facilities, these primary health care services can meet up to 90% of a person’s health needs, but patients are split between these providers, with no real coordination or continuity between them, leading to errors in diagnosis, slow treatment, and poor quality of care.

Health systems weren’t built for patients.

Tanzania’s health system relies on community-based institutions, but these lack accurate patient information, like medical histories and records of previous interactions with the health system. When one component is weak or the information is not shared the consequences can be fatal.

1 in 100
pregnancies lead to maternal death
1 in 23
children die before their fifth birthday
1 in 34
girls age 15-19 experience early pregnancies in rural areas

Afya-Tek is reimagining
this system.

Personalized,
digitally-enabled care. Anywhere.

When a patient has been referred by a community health worker or drug dispenser...
Patients can access high-quality health care...
Drug dispensers use the Afya-Tek app to assist with patient screening and provision of services...
Community health workers, equipped with smartphones with the Afya-Tek app, visit people in their homes...

With generous support from Fondation Botnar, Afya-Tek is improving maternal, child and adolescent health in Tanzania through personalized, digitally enabled care that allows patients to engage with the health system wherever they are: at their doorstep with community health workers, at a community-based drug dispensing outlet or a primary health facility. We seamlessly link together all the different points of contact to create a new, more connected healthcare system, in which key knowledge and information are shared, treatment is coordinated, and patients know that the care they’re getting at every stage in their journey is truly the care they need.

Leveraging clinical decision support, referral coordination, and data-driven performance management, this fully digitized system fills previous cracks at touchpoints to enable care. Along the way, data is collected and used for measuring and monitoring how the health system responds to patient needs, making evidence-based information transparent for policy and program decision-making.

Patient tracking

No matter where a patient goes, their health record is always accessible for reliable, efficient treatment, and personalized care. Afya-Tek enables people to access care where it’s most convenient, tailored to their unique needs. Whether visiting a primary health care facility or a drug shop, a patient can rest assured that their health record is readily available to the provider, promoting better decisions and outcomes.

Referrals

If a problem or risk is identified or the patient needs more sophisticated care, they can get a referral to a health facility Health records and referral information will already be available to the facility upon arrival. The Afya-Tek system facilitates the seamless transfer of health records, enhancing care coordination between health facilities and community health workers for optimal treatment outcomes.

Data use

The program generates a significant amount of data, which is responsibly and ethically shared with program teams and the government. Local government teams utilize data to monitor program performance and impact, while the central government is gaining skills to manage program data in the long run.

Follow-up

After a drug shop or health facility visit, the system ensures patients will have a community health worker to check in with them to ensure any issues have been addressed and that they received the best possible care. We bridge gaps between drug shops and health facility visits, and community health worker support – enhancing patient care and treatment adherence for improved health outcomes.

A world where everyone has access to the

Seamless, Effective, And personal healthcare they deserve

District Medical Officer
Tanzania
"To me this project has been of great benefit. I can see the outcome of this project because in my district it is almost more than ten months, I have not had a death of a pregnant woman. Even the mortality of under-five children has reduced. Even the health seeking behavior of pregnant women and adolescents has increased"
Director of Health and Nutrition
President's Office Regional Administration and Local Government
"I see Afya-Tek as a digital community health system that can assist to understand and address community health challenges, generate learning through research and integration with primary health facility patient care information systems for complete care pathways."

Maximizing Impact

250,000+ people connected to health providers
500+ health workers supported
506,264 home visits made
3-fold increase in completed patient referrals

We know that Afya-Tek works and is having an incredible impact on people’s health and quality of life. It is now ready for national scale-up and integration into the national health system. By the end of 2025, we see Afya-Tek as an integral part of Tanzania’s primary health care system, improving the lives of nearly 60 million people and making high-quality health care a reality for all. But we will not stop there. We will continue to work to improve the health system in Tanzania as well as explore how the Afya-Tek approach can be adapted and applied to other countries.

Reaching New Heights

We’ve just begun, but already have evidence that Afya-Tek improves health for all. With your help, Afya-Tek can build on its success by focusing on these priorities:

DEEPEN GOVERNMENT COLLABORATION
We're deepening our engagement with the Tanzanian government to equip them with key management and technical skills to expand the system even further, use the data to inform health decisions and policies and change lives on a national level.
SCALE OUR IMPACT
The Government of Tanzania has endorsed Afya-Tek to be part of the national community health system; we are working with them on this development and implementation. We see this as critical to prepare for scale across all of Tanzania.
GAIN NEW INSIGHTS
We will strategically improve the system and test innovations to maximize health outcomes for Tanzanians. We will also strengthen data use on the program and gain new insights related to this model, such as care-seeking preferences and medication access for women, children, and adolescents.

Afya-Tek Partners

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