Impact Evaluation of AfDB’s Support to a Maternal Mortality Reduction Project in Tanzania

Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) at the African Development Bank (AfDB or "the Bank") is conducting an impact evaluation of AfDB’s Support to the Maternal Mortality Reduction Project in Tanzania which was approved in 2006 and completed in 2015. The project's total cost is USD 63.46 million (UA 44.4 million) and was funded by the African Development Fund and the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania. The project aimed to accelerate the reduction of maternal and new-born deaths in the mainland (Mara, Mtwara, and Tabora regions) and the island of Zanzibar. 

The evaluation will estimate the causal impact of the health project on its intended outcomes and identify the factors that affected its performance and development outcomes. The evaluation is expected to generate lessons and recommendations to inform the design and implementation of similar health infrastructure projects under the Bank’s new Strategy for Quality Health Infrastructure in Africa (SQHIA, 2022-2030) over the next decade. At the strategic level, the impact evaluation aims to provide credible evidence on the development impacts of health infrastructure, particularly for underserved areas and vulnerable populations. 

In the absence of a pure random experiment comprising of a treated and control group, the evaluation will use a quasi-experimental design to estimate the causal impact of the health project on the key outcomes of interest.  

The evaluation is expected to be delivered by the second quarter of 2023. 

Evaluation Task Manager: Eustace Uzor - Evaluation Officer, IDEV