World NTD Day 2026: Turning Evidence into Action for Tanzania’s 2030 NTD Roadmap

World NTD Day 2026: Turning Evidence into Action for Tanzania’s 2030 NTD Roadmap

• Evidence, Surveillance & Learning
• January 28, 2026

As the world marks World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day, SOHICOHE joins partners across Tanzania and Africa to renew a shared commitment: End NTDs by 2030—through stronger community systems, smarter surveillance, and faster action.

In 2026, we are proud to spotlight a major milestone for our organization—our first field-supported NTD evidence project in Nyasa District Council (Ruvuma Region), implemented using the AfyaData digital platform (SACIDS) http://www.sacids.org/ and delivered through community-based household surveillance.

Why this matters for Tanzania’s NTD 2030 goals

The global NTD Roadmap 2021–2030 calls for stronger country ownership, integrated approaches, and data-driven delivery models that reach the last mile. Tanzania’s NTD direction similarly emphasizes building resilient systems, improving surveillance and referral pathways, and using evidence to guide targeted interventions—especially for underserved communities. Our Nyasa scabies surveillance work contributes to this agenda by generating practical evidence that can directly guide local response planning.

What SOHICOHE supported on the ground

In partnership with Nyasa-CHMT, SOHICOHE provided hands-on implementation support to ensure the surveillance was feasible and reliable at the household level, including:

• Field support for household data collection
• Supportive supervision and monitoring of reporting
• CHW operational support, including facilitation for mobile phones, network bundles/data, and field troubleshooting
• Strengthening the reporting-to-response pathway by improving follow-up coordination

This kind of practical support is essential for digital surveillance to work in real-life rural settings.

We are preparing for an upcoming results presentation by the supported candidate, showcasing key findings from the AfyaData-supported scabies surveillance. These results will help SOHICOHE and partners to:

• Design targeted scabies control interventions in Nyasa District (20 wards, 84 villages).
• Develop scalable approaches for Southern Zone districts (Phases 1, 2, 3, and 5).
• Strengthen community detection, referral linkage, and localized response planning (AfyaData Usability). 
• Support integrated skin-NTD action aligned with the 2030 goals 

A message to donors and partners

This is only the beginning. As our first major evidence project, it demonstrates SOHICOHE’s readiness to deliver community-driven, digital-health-enabled NTD programming—with measurable outputs that can be scaled.

We invite donors, implementers, and public health partners to collaborate with us as we transition from results to real interventions—so that no community is left behind on the path to NTD elimination by 2030.

Are you interested in partnering or supporting our scale-up efforts?

Reach out to SOHICOHE through our official channels  info@sohicohe.or.tz / www.sohicohe.or.tz

“We also extend our sincere appreciation to Mwacele and the wider NTD Africa network for their visionary leadership and contribution in shaping Tanzania’s national NTD Roadmap toward the 2030 elimination goals. Partners and community-driven initiatives continue to draw inspiration from their commitment, striving to ensure that no one falls behind in the fight against neglected tropical diseases. - Public Relations SOHICOHE"

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