Deadline: 03-Jul-2026
UNICEF is seeking a national NGO partner in Tanzania to support interventions that improve birth registration rates and access to legal identity services for children and youth. The programme will operate in Tanga, Mwanza and Dar es Salaam regions and will focus on social and behaviour change communication, community sensitization, youth-led awareness, caregiver engagement and district-level coordination.
The partnership is part of the EU-funded BRIDGE-Tanzania project and will support birth registration and digital identity services across 10 districts. The project will run from 1 August 2026 to 31 August 2027, with an indicative budget of USD 330,000.
Programme Overview
The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund is seeking a national NGO partner to support birth registration and legal identity interventions in Tanzania.
The selected NGO will help improve awareness, access and participation in birth registration services for children and youth from birth to 17 years.
The programme will be implemented in selected districts across:
- Tanga
- Mwanza
- Dar es Salaam
The initiative will support Tanzania’s broader efforts to strengthen civil registration and digital identity systems.
Main Objective
The main objective of the partnership is to improve birth registration rates and access to legal identity services for children and youth in targeted regions of Tanzania.
The programme aims to:
- Increase awareness of birth registration benefits
- Improve access to birth registration services
- Promote legal identity documentation for children and adolescents
- Support social and behaviour change at community level
- Strengthen parent and caregiver understanding
- Encourage youth participation in awareness activities
- Support district-level planning, supervision and monitoring
Key Focus Areas
The partnership focuses on child protection, legal identity and community engagement.
Key focus areas include:
- Protection
- Birth registration
- Legal identity services
- Digital ID processes
- Social and behaviour change communication
- Parent and caregiver support
- Access to birth registration from birth to 17 years
- Community sensitization
- Social norms and behaviour change
- Youth-led initiatives
- District-level planning and supervision
- Awareness on birth certificates
- Community participation in registration processes
Background and Context
Since 2012, UNICEF has supported the Government of Tanzania through the Registration Insolvency Trusteeship Agency to improve civil registration systems.
This support has helped make birth registration services more accessible and affordable.
The Simplified Birth Registration System has expanded registration services at the community level.
This system has contributed to increased birth registration coverage across Tanzania by bringing services closer to families and communities.
BRIDGE-Tanzania Project
The new partnership will be implemented through the BRIDGE-Tanzania project, funded by the European Union.
Through this project, UNICEF plans to work with a local NGO to implement a social and behavioural change programme supporting birth registration and digital identity services.
The programme will cover 10 districts in Tanga, Mwanza and Dar es Salaam.
Project Duration
The project will begin on 1 August 2026 and continue until 31 August 2027.
Implementation will be phased across the targeted regions.
This phased approach will help support planning, coordination, community engagement and monitoring in each region.
Indicative Budget
The indicative budget for this partnership is USD 330,000.
The budget is intended to support programme implementation, community engagement, awareness campaigns, coordination, monitoring and related activities under the partnership.
Who is Eligible?
UNICEF is seeking a national NGO partner in Tanzania.
The selected organisation should have the capacity to implement community-based interventions focused on birth registration, child protection, social behaviour change and legal identity services.
A suitable NGO should demonstrate experience in areas such as:
- Community mobilization
- Social and behaviour change communication
- Child protection programming
- Birth registration awareness
- Parent and caregiver engagement
- Youth-led initiatives
- District-level coordination
- Monitoring and reporting
- Work with local leaders and community structures
- Use of local languages for outreach
Target Groups
The programme will target children, youth, parents, caregivers and community stakeholders.
Key target groups include:
- Children from birth to 17 years
- Older children and adolescents
- Parents and caregivers
- Pregnant women
- Fathers
- Adolescent parents
- Youth groups
- Schools
- Community leaders
- Elders
- Religious leaders
- District-level authorities
- Local service providers
Role of the Selected NGO
The selected NGO will develop and implement awareness and behaviour change strategies that promote birth registration and legal identity services.
The organisation will support activities that help communities understand why birth certificates and digital identity processes matter.
Main responsibilities may include:
- Designing awareness strategies
- Implementing community sensitization activities
- Supporting mass media campaigns
- Developing targeted messages for families
- Engaging parents, caregivers and youth
- Supporting community dialogues
- Promoting birth registration as a social responsibility
- Working with local leaders and religious leaders
- Supporting youth-led initiatives in schools and communities
- Contributing to district planning and supervision
- Monitoring progress and reporting results
Social and Behaviour Change Approach
The programme will use social and behaviour change communication to influence knowledge, attitudes and practices around birth registration.
This approach focuses on changing community perceptions and encouraging families to act.
The programme will promote birth registration as:
- A child protection measure
- A legal right
- A gateway to services
- A social responsibility
- A foundation for digital identity
- An important step for access to education, health and social protection
Awareness and Communication Activities
The selected NGO will implement awareness activities using multiple channels.
Activities may include:
- Mass media campaigns
- Community sensitization through local platforms
- Local-language communication materials
- Targeted messaging for pregnant women
- Messaging for fathers and male caregivers
- Messaging for adolescent parents
- Storytelling approaches
- Community dialogues
- Public commitments
- School-based awareness sessions
- Youth-led peer education
The use of local languages will be important to ensure that communities clearly understand the benefits and procedures of birth registration.
Community Engagement Strategy
The programme will focus on community-level participation.
Community engagement will involve trusted local structures and leaders to help shift attitudes and encourage registration.
Relevant approaches include:
- Dialogues with parents and caregivers
- Engagement with elders
- Engagement with religious leaders
- Public discussions on birth certificates
- Male engagement strategies
- Local storytelling
- Community commitments to support registration
- Sensitization through schools and community platforms
These activities will help position birth registration as a shared responsibility across families and communities.
Support for Older Children and Adolescents
The programme will give special attention to older children and adolescents who may not yet have legal identity documentation.
The initiative will use important life moments to highlight the value of birth registration.
These moments may include:
- School enrolment
- Examinations
- Access to health insurance
- Access to social protection services
- Youth participation in community services
- Digital ID procedures
By linking birth registration to practical needs, the programme can help families understand why legal identity documentation is important beyond early childhood.
Youth-Led Initiatives
Youth participation is an important part of this partnership.
The selected NGO will support youth-led initiatives in schools and communities.
These activities may include:
- Peer education
- Youth awareness sessions
- School-based campaigns
- Community outreach by young people
- Youth discussions on digital ID
- Activities explaining birth registration procedures
- Youth advocacy for legal identity services
Youth-led approaches can help reach adolescents and young people in ways that are relatable and practical.
District-Level Planning and Monitoring
The selected organisation will contribute to district-level planning, coordination, supervision and monitoring.
This includes working with local authorities and stakeholders to ensure that interventions are properly planned and implemented.
The NGO may support:
- District planning meetings
- Coordination with local government structures
- Supervision of community activities
- Monitoring of implementation progress
- Collection of feedback from communities
- Reporting on achievements and challenges
- Adjustments to improve outreach effectiveness
Why Birth Registration Matters
Birth registration is the official recording of a child’s birth by the government.
A birth certificate provides legal proof of identity, age, family relationships and nationality.
Birth registration is important because it can help children access:
- Education
- Health services
- Social protection
- Legal protection
- National identity systems
- Digital ID processes
- Age-based protections
- Government services
Without birth registration, children may face barriers to proving who they are, accessing services and claiming their rights.
Why This Partnership Matters
This partnership matters because legal identity is essential for child protection and access to basic services.
In Tanzania, strengthening birth registration systems helps ensure that children are visible in official records and can access services throughout childhood and adolescence.
The programme also supports national efforts to expand digital identity systems in a way that includes children and youth.
By working with communities, parents, caregivers, youth and local leaders, the project can help reduce awareness barriers and improve participation in registration services.
How the Programme Works
The programme will use phased implementation across targeted districts in Tanga, Mwanza and Dar es Salaam.
Step 1: Partner Selection
UNICEF will select a national NGO partner with relevant experience and capacity.
The selected partner should be able to implement social and behaviour change activities and coordinate with district-level stakeholders.
Step 2: Awareness Strategy Development
The selected NGO will develop awareness strategies for parents, caregivers, youth, communities and stakeholders.
The strategy should include clear messages on birth registration, birth certificates and digital ID processes.
Step 3: Community Sensitization
The NGO will conduct sensitization through local platforms, community structures and trusted leaders.
Activities should help communities understand the benefits of birth registration and how to access services.
Step 4: Targeted Messaging
The programme will provide targeted messages for specific groups, including pregnant women, fathers and adolescent parents.
This helps ensure that communication is relevant to different family and community roles.
Step 5: Youth Engagement
The NGO will support youth-led activities in schools and communities.
These activities will help young people understand legal identity procedures and encourage peer-to-peer awareness.
Step 6: District Coordination
The organisation will support district-level planning, supervision and monitoring.
Coordination with district authorities will help ensure smooth implementation and local ownership.
Step 7: Monitoring and Reporting
The NGO will track progress, document results and report on implementation.
Reporting should include achievements, challenges, lessons learned and recommendations for improving outreach.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Applicants should avoid the following mistakes:
- Failing to show experience in community-based programming
- Providing weak understanding of birth registration systems
- Ignoring the importance of social and behaviour change
- Not explaining how parents and caregivers will be reached
- Overlooking adolescent and youth engagement
- Failing to include local-language communication approaches
- Ignoring the role of fathers and male caregivers
- Not involving elders, religious leaders or local influencers
- Providing unclear district-level coordination plans
- Failing to explain monitoring, reporting and supervision methods
- Treating birth registration only as an administrative process rather than a child protection and rights issue
Tips for a Strong Application
A strong application should:
- Demonstrate experience working with communities in Tanzania
- Show understanding of child protection and legal identity services
- Explain clear strategies for social and behaviour change communication
- Include practical approaches for reaching parents and caregivers
- Address older children and adolescents
- Include youth-led school and community activities
- Use local languages and culturally appropriate messaging
- Engage fathers, elders and religious leaders
- Show capacity for district-level planning and supervision
- Include a strong monitoring and reporting approach
- Align activities with the BRIDGE-Tanzania project objectives
FAQ
1. What is UNICEF seeking in Tanzania?
UNICEF is seeking a national NGO partner to support interventions that improve birth registration rates and access to legal identity services for children and youth in Tanzania.
2. Where will the programme be implemented?
The programme will be implemented across 10 districts in Tanga, Mwanza and Dar es Salaam regions.
3. What is the BRIDGE-Tanzania project?
BRIDGE-Tanzania is a European Union-funded project through which UNICEF will support birth registration and digital identity services in Tanzania.
4. What will the selected NGO do?
The selected NGO will develop and implement awareness strategies, conduct community sensitization, support youth-led initiatives, engage parents and caregivers, and contribute to district-level planning, supervision and monitoring.
5. Who are the main target groups?
The main target groups include children from birth to 17 years, adolescents, parents, caregivers, pregnant women, fathers, adolescent parents, youth, schools and community stakeholders.
6. When will the project take place?
The project will run from 1 August 2026 to 31 August 2027.
7. What is the indicative budget?
The indicative budget for the partnership is USD 330,000.
Conclusion
UNICEF’s Tanzania partnership opportunity supports improved birth registration and legal identity services for children and youth in Tanga, Mwanza and Dar es Salaam.
Through the EU-funded BRIDGE-Tanzania project, the selected national NGO will help strengthen awareness, community participation, youth engagement and district-level coordination.
By promoting birth registration as a child protection measure and social responsibility, the programme will help more children and adolescents access legal identity documentation and essential services.
For more information, visit UN Partner Portal.
