Tanzania
Approximately 70,000 children are living with HIV in Tanzania; in 2024, there were an additional 5,100 new infections due to vertical transmission.
Background
Tanzania’s comprehensive strategy for eliminating vertical transmission of HIV incorporates the prevention of incident HIV infections among pregnant and breastfeeding women through national guidelines that recommend Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for individuals at an increased risk of acquiring the disease. The Tanzania Ministry of Health has currently made oral PrEP available for all eligible populations in Tanzania, with plans underway to introduce long-acting injectable PrEP. For pregnant and breastfeeding women, PrEP service delivery is integrated into routine reproductive and child health services. Tanzania has also placed high importance on monitoring high-quality real-time data that supports PBFW management through a digital health information system, the Unified Community System (UCS), which captures and monitors reproductive health services including PrEP.
Progress toward elimination targets, 2024
| Elimination of vertical transmission | |
|---|---|
| Pregnant women who received ART for VTP (#) | 66,900 |
| Pregnant women needing ART for VTP (#) | 68,000 |
| Coverage of pregnant women who received ART for VTP (%) | 95 |
| Early infant diagnosis < 2 months of age (%) | 71 |
| New HIV infection among children (#) | 5,100 |
| New HIV infections averted due to VTP interventions | 18,000 |
| Final vertical transmission rate including during breastfeeding (%) | 7.6 |
| Number of HIV-exposed children who are uninfected | 910,000 |
| Source: UNAIDS country estimates, 2025 | |
HIVE-Supported National PrEP Assessments
In April 2026, Tanzania conducted a national assessment to evaluate the implementation and monitoring of PrEP for pregnant and breastfeeding women. The assessment focused on core areas including HIV testing policies, PrEP guidelines, service delivery, PrEP eligibility screening and initiation, demand creation strategies, monitoring and evaluation systems, and community monitoring. Results of the assessment show that Tanzania has a strong foundation for delivering PrEP services for PBFW, supported by comprehensive HIV testing policies, effective service delivery processes, and a robust monitoring and evaluation system, including electronic medical records that capture and report PrEP data. Despite these strengths, the assessment identified several opportunities for improvement. These include better synchronization of PrEP and MCH services throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding, strengthening systems to track PrEP continuation, and expanding community-based demand creation strategies. Additional opportunities include increasing the engagement of community health workers and peers to promote PrEP continuation, as well as enhancing the use of community-generated data to inform program planning and implementation. Â
HIVE Engagement
Tanzania joined the HIVE network in October 2024, after a sensitization meeting and baseline visit by the ICAP-HIVE team with the Ministry of Health, recipients of care, UN agencies, PEPFAR agencies, and other implementing partners. Since then, Tanzania has actively participated in the HIVE network activities, including piloting the HIV Vertical Transmission Elimination Capability Maturity Model (VTE CMM).
In December 2024, Tanzania conducted a baseline assessment of the country’s VTP program using the VTE CMM, which identified strengths in coordination, community engagement, training, procurement, ART coverage, service quality, and neonatal syphilis. The figure below shows the baseline national VTE assessment results, with dark green indicating where Tanzania is doing well.
Overview of Tanzania’s 2024 VTP self-assessment results