The Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) hosted a dissemination meeting in Morogoro to share findings from the Provider Payment Methods in Tanzania (PPMT) study and examine their implications for how health providers should be paid as Tanzania advances towards Universal Health Insurance (UHI) implementation. Provider payment mechanisms (PPMs) refer to the ways hospitals and other health facilities are paid for the services they provide.

The meeting convened representatives from the Ministry of Health’s Directorate of Policy and Planning (MoH-DPP), the Prime Minister’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG), regional and district health managers from Singida and Manyara regions, development partners, and the PPMT project team from IHI.

It provided a platform for the research team to present the study findings and for stakeholders to reflect on how the evidence aligns with their experiences of managing and financing health services at national and sub-national levels.

About the PPMT study

Funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), under the MRC/FCDO Concordat agreement, the PPMT study was conducted in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) between 2023 and 2025. The study examined providers’ and purchasers’ experiences with different payment methods, provider preferences for capitation payment attributes using a discrete choice experiment (DCE), and the association between different provider payment methods and service quality and efficiency within the health system.

Tanzania currently uses a mix of payment methods, including fee-for-service and capitation. While these approaches have different strengths, the study identified challenges associated with the existing payment arrangements, including payment delays, low reimbursement and substantial reporting requirements.

Putting research evidence into context

Presentations from the PPMT project team were led by Dr. Peter Binyaruka, Principal Investigator and Health Economist; Francis Ngadaya, Health Economist; and John Maiba, Social Scientist.

The sessions went beyond presenting research findings, with participants assessing where the evidence resonated with their experiences and identifying areas where the findings differed from what they observe in practice.

Discussions explored possible explanations for these differences, including variations in implementation between Manyara and Singida and changes in health policies since the research was conducted.

The exchange allowed researchers and health-sector stakeholders to interpret the findings within the realities of Tanzania’s health system and consider how the evidence could inform decisions on provider payment approaches.

Linking evidence to Universal Health Insurance

The workshop also provided a brief overview of planned provider payment methods under Universal Health Insurance (UHI), linking the PPMT research to Tanzania’s ongoing health financing reforms. A representative from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) provided an update regarding the ongoing and planned provider payment methods under UHI. Currently, fee-for-service is the ongoing payment method, with planned capitation for primary healthcare facilities from the next financial year. 

Provider payment methods are an important part of how health systems allocate resources and can influence the delivery, efficiency and sustainability of health services. Understanding how different approaches work in practice is therefore important as Tanzania develops mechanisms to support the implementation of UHI.

Strengthening the path from evidence to action

Remarks from representatives of the Ministry of Health and PMO-RALG underscored the importance of continued engagement and dialogue among researchers, policymakers and health managers to bridge research evidence, policy decisions and the realities of health service delivery across the country.

The discussions also provided an opportunity to consider the way forward: ensuring that provider payment approaches contribute to equitable, efficient and resilient health coverage, while supporting a health system in which people can access and receive the quality health care they deserve.

For IHI, the dissemination meeting marked an important step in taking evidence generated through the PPMT project back to health-sector stakeholders who can help interpret, apply and translate the findings into practice.

Read more about the PPMT project:

PPMT Project – Ifakara Health Institute

Read the related policy brief:

How Tanzania can pay health providers better under Universal Health Insurance