Yet important gaps remain. Too many pneumonia cases are still not correctly diagnosed at the facility level, and access in the private sector remains limited. Addressing these challenges will be critical for sustaining progress and ensuring that more children receive timely, effective treatment.

This policy brief outlines six priority actions the Ministry of Health can take to build on recent progress, strengthen pneumonia diagnosis and treatment, and sustain access to essential medicines as Tanzania works toward its 2030 child mortality goals.

For more on the collaboration between the Government of Tanzania and R4D to expand access to childhood pneumonia treatment, see the accompanying impact brief.

Additional resources:

Implementation and lessons

• Supporting Tanzania’s Ministry of Health to improve commodity availability through bottom-up quantification
• Sustainable health commodity financing: Lessons from Tanzania’s transition from donor funding

Research and analysis

• Correct diagnosis of childhood pneumonia in public facilities in Tanzania
• Increasing the role of the private sector in pediatric pneumonia treatment in Tanzania

The post Policy Brief: 6 Actions to Reduce Child Mortality from Pneumonia in Tanzania appeared first on Results for Development.

Over the past decade, Results for Development (R4D) has partnered with the Government of Tanzania and other stakeholders to help expand access to this life-saving treatment. Through a coordinated market shaping effort that addressed financing, supply planning, policy alignment, and supplier engagement, Tanzania has strengthened the systems needed to ensure Amox DT is consistently available in health facilities. These efforts also supported a transition from donor-financed procurement to sustainable domestic financing.

This impact brief highlights how government leadership and targeted market shaping interventions helped expand access to pediatric pneumonia treatment and reduce child mortality while strengthening the systems that sustain it. It also shares lessons for countries and partners working to improve access to essential medicines.

For recommendations on how to continue building on this progress, see the accompanying policy brief.

Additional resources:

Implementation and lessons

• Supporting Tanzania’s Ministry of Health to improve commodity availability through bottom-up quantification
• Sustainable health commodity financing: Lessons from Tanzania’s transition from donor funding

Research and analysis

• Correct diagnosis of childhood pneumonia in public facilities in Tanzania
• Increasing the role of the private sector in pediatric pneumonia treatment in Tanzania

The post Impact Brief: Reducing Child Mortality in Tanzania by Increasing Access to Pediatric Pneumonia Treatment appeared first on Results for Development.

Drawing on key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) with more than 200 vaccinators, health facility managers, subnational and national stakeholders, the report details how immunization service delivery functioned before the funding cuts, the disruptions that followed, and the consequences for coverage, equity, and system performance. Major impacts include significant reductions in the immunization workforce due to the loss of stipends; dramatic shifts in service delivery modalities, moving away from outreach and mobile strategies toward fixed-post sessions; delays and increased costs for last-mile vaccine transport and distribution, resulting in more frequent stockouts and session cancellations; and, incomplete, compromised and/or delayed data for tracking coverage and planning. In the countries assessed, there is already evidence of declining coverage rates and loss progress in reaching zero-dose children.

Findings are presented both across countries and in country-specific sections, illustrated with direct quotes from anonymized participants. The report concludes with a discussion on the most actionable findings for governments, donors and implementing partners seeking to rapidly recover coverage and prevent further losses.

The post Rapid assessment to identify on-the-ground effects of 2025 U.S. government funding cuts on immunization programs in three countries appeared first on Results for Development.

As a fellow at Results for Development (R4D), she is currently involved in R4D’s Access PDC project, which aims to strengthen country-led systems for equitable access to essential health commodities. Her role includes supporting stakeholder engagement, policy analysis and evidence generation to inform RMNCH product financing and delivery reforms at the federal and state levels.

Mariya’s past roles include chief of party for USAID’s Frontier Health Markets (FHM) Engage project at Chemonics International, where she led market-driven initiatives to expand access to quality health products and services through private-sector partnerships. Previously, she was technical director for RMNCH on the USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program (GHSC-PSM), managing a portfolio of nine states and pioneering approaches to improve RMNCH product availability through sustainable drug financing and end-to-end supply chain visibility.

Her earlier leadership roles at the Palladium Group and FHI 360 contributed to strengthening Nigeria’s primary health care systems, implementing state-level health financing mechanisms and advancing policy reforms that have shaped reproductive health programming nationwide.

Mariya holds an M.Sc. in reproductive and sexual health research from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and an M.B.B.S. from Ahmadu Bello University. She is a recipient of the 120 Under 40: New Generation of Family Planning Leaders award from the Gates Institute.

The post Mariya Saleh appeared first on Results for Development.

This white paper, “Measurement and Learning for Catalytic Programs in the Development and Humanitarian Sectors” defines catalytic impact as the sustainable improvements in people’s lives that result from systems change or replication at scale, rather than from direct interventions. It presents a practical framework for how organizations can measure, learn from, and strengthen these types of indirect, system-level effects.

What’s Inside

The paper, co-authored by individuals from R4D, CARE, and PSI, distills learning from two global convenings of organizations that fund, deliver, and evaluate catalytic programs and draws lessons from four case studies across health, housing, and agriculture. It introduces five guiding principles for measurement and learning in catalytic work:

• Select right-fit, credible, mixed methods that balance rigor with feasibility.
• Adopt locally owned and user-centered approaches that reflect participants’ priorities.
• Generate evidence for a defined purpose and use, tailored to decision-making needs.
• Approach measurement with a learning focus to support adaptation and improvement.
• Be iterative, innovative, and adaptive in methods, analysis, and use of data over time.

Why It Matters

Catalytic programs seek to influence complex systems through partnerships, scaling, and innovation. Traditional monitoring and evaluation methods are not designed to capture these indirect, long-term effects. This white paper calls for a shift toward adaptive, learning-oriented measurement practices that can illuminate how catalytic change unfolds and how organizations can better contribute to lasting, locally led impact.

Key Recommendations

To advance measurement and learning for catalytic programs, the paper offers targeted recommendations for implementers, donors, and the broader catalytic work community, emphasizing the need for organizational buy-in, realistic budgeting for measurement, investment in innovative approaches, and the creation of a shared community of practice.

Explore the full paper in the download link above.

Author Contact Information

• Katie Bowman – kbowman@r4d.org
• Seth McGovern – smcgovern@psi.org
• Caitlin Shannon – cataspencer@gmail.com (former CARE)

Suggested Citation:

Bowman, Katie; McGovern, Seth; Shannon, Caitlin. (2025). A White Paper on Measurement and Learning for Catalytic Programs in the Development and Humanitarian Sectors. CARE, PSI, R4D.

The post A White Paper on Measurement and Learning for Catalytic Programs in the Development and Humanitarian Sectors appeared first on Results for Development.

Before joining R4D, Dr. Balsara served as director of health, population and nutrition at USAID/Ghana, where she oversaw a $90 million annual portfolio and designed the Mission’s five-year, $450 million public health strategy. Previously, she held senior leadership roles with USAID in Nigeria, Indonesia and Tanzania, and worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she managed flagship global health financing partnerships in collaboration with the World Bank, the Global Financing Facility, the Islamic Development Bank and the Lives and Livelihoods Fund.

Dr. Balsara’s work sits at the intersection of health financing, supply chains and service delivery design, with deep expertise in primary health care, prevention and health promotion, and community health. She is recognized for building coalitions across governments, donors and the private sector to expand sustainable access to essential medicines and health products and to strengthen health systems.

She holds a Ph.D. in international health and health systems and speaks English, Hindi and Bahasa Indonesia.

The post Zohra Balsara appeared first on Results for Development.