THE Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) coalition has urged the government to allocate gender-sensitive budget for the health sector to ease the financial burden associated with the treatment and care of premature babies.

The appeal was made in Dar es Salaam at the weekend during a joint discussion on proposed   Labour Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which is expected to be presented to the Parliament soon.

Speaking at the event, Doris Mollel, director of Doris Mollel Foundation, and a member of the coalition’s committee on advocacy, called for budget allocation at village and ward levels to ensure that health centres have the infrastructure and equipment necessary to care for premature babies at the local level.

“If our health centres and rural clinics are equipped with the necessary resources and equipment to care for premature babies, it will significantly alleviate this issue. Women who give birth prematurely often travel long distances from the rural areas, spending considerable time seeking services at referral hospitals, which only increases the financial strain on communities,” Mollel said.

She further highlighted that if the government allocates sufficient funds within the Ministry of Health’s budget, particularly for the care of women giving birth to premature babies, and invests in the necessary equipment, it will reduce the burden on families and help mitigate the burden caused by high medical costs.

Mollel stressed the importance of ensuring that women have sufficient maternity leave when giving birth to premature babies.

She said that premature births should be an issue discussed openly by the society, with efforts   to change negative attitudes.

Rose Marandu, Executive Director of the Women’s Fund Tanzania (WFT-T), stressed the importance of allocating financial resources of government budgets at all levels.

She argued that such allocations would significantly reduce poverty, gender-based violence, and mistreatment of women who give birth prematurely.

“The SRHR coalition plays a critical role in educating the community, particularly men, who are key partners in reproductive health. Men must be fully engaged and understand their responsibilities so that when a woman gives birth to a premature baby, she does not face discrimination, mistreatment, or violence,” Marandu said.

The SRHR coalition’s proposal for the legal amendments includes a recommendation for Section 33 of the proposed law, which currently provides maternity leave for women who give birth prematurely, to be extended.

The coalition wants changes to maternity leave provisions, particularly for mothers of premature babies, urging that the leave period be extended until the child reaches 40 weeks of age, instead of 36 weeks in the current draft.

Dr Dinna Mbaga, a member of the SRHR coalition’s technical committee said extending the maternity leave will provide much-needed relief to mothers, enabling them to care for their premature infants during the critical early stages of development.

Saada Nassor, a mother of two premature children, shared the difficulties she encountered when she gave birth to a premature baby in 2017.

Reflecting on her journey, she praised the support she received from the Doris Mollel Foundation, which helped her navigate the challenges of caring for her newborn.

“The foundation’s support was invaluable to me. It made a huge difference in my experience as a mother of a premature baby,” she said.