Meaningful engagement of parents and caregivers, especially those with lived experience of newborn health challenges, is increasingly recognised as crucial for improving care, shaping research priorities, and ensuring interventions meet real community needs.
As part of SNIP-AFRICA’s commitment to leveraging parent and community involvement in research, Ifakara Health Institute (IHI), our partner in Tanzania, convened two workshops to better understand the barriers that limit the formation and sustainability of parental support groups in Tanzania.
The first workshop, held on 5 December 2025 in Dar es Salaam, brought together representatives from parent support group, including the Tanzania Preterm Family Network, the Preterm Babies Organization Tanzania, JJ Breastfeeding champions, as well as individual parents, neonatal healthcare workers, researchers, and community engagement specialists. The workshop was also attended by the President of the Pediatric Association of Tanzania (PAT), a key agent advocating for neonatal and child health and wellbeing in the country. Participants stressed that parents’ perspectives are essential to improving neonatal care and advancing national and global newborn-survival goals.
The second workshop, held on 8 December 2025 in Ifakara Town, engaged Ward Health Representatives and the Council Health Management Team. Discussions focused on the practical challenges communities face in resource-limited settings when establishing and sustaining parent support groups. Key challenges raised include inadequate awareness of the researchers and healthcare workers on the importance of engaging parents, lack of resources to sustain the groups, lack of training on how to manage and sustain community groups, parents groups operating without formal registration, and lack of clear engagement modalities.
“Engaging parent representatives in neonatal care and research is beyond asking for informed consent; it means setting priorities together and working collaboratively to address prevailing challenges”, notes Dr. Getrud Mollel, SNIP-AFRICA Project Leader from IHI. “This was an eye-opening engagement opportunity. It was an avenue where parents, researchers and clinicians listened to each other and discussed ways to ensure meaningful engagement of the parents in shaping neonatal care and research priorities“.
Insights from both workshops will be condensed in a report and used to inform SNIP-AFRICA’s strategies for meaningful parent engagement in neonatal research and care.
Read the article on IHI’s website
In the photo: Dr. Getrud Mollel, SNIP-AFRICA Project Leader from Ifakara Health Institutes (IHI), facilitates a session during the newborn health workshop in Ifakara. Photo credit: IHI media team
