Australia for Cedar Tanzania – Sustainable Maternal and Infant Lifesaving Endeavours (SMILE): Nominee for the Change-Maker Award for a Not-For-Profit or Charity Organisation, 2025 Africa Award

About the Nominee & their Nomination

• Australia for Cedar Tanzania is a registered Public Benevolent Institution in Australia, working in partnership with The Cedar Foundation Tanzania. Since 2018, it has delivered sustainable, community-led initiatives addressing poverty, gender inequality, health inequities, and economic exclusion in rural north-western Tanzania. Its, Sustainable Maternal and Infant Lifesaving Endeavours (SMILE) program, provides maternal and newborn care through Kamanga Health Centre and home-based outreach. The organisation’s mission is to ensure every woman and newborn has access to skilled, respectful healthcare regardless of their location.

• Launched in April 2025, SMILE has already demonstrated measurable results within its first three months. By July 2025, 142 deliveries were attended by skilled personnel, and 64 postnatal home visits were conducted, offering holistic care from physical recovery to family planning. Eight trained community health workers are actively engaged, building trust and capacity within local communities. The impact of the initiative was measured through data reflecting service utilisation, health outcomes, behavioural indicators and community feedback, obtained via interviews and debriefs with participants and stakeholders.

Despite challenges such as cultural resistance and geographic isolation, the program is reducing risks for mothers and infants while strengthening community trust in healthcare systems. Beyond health outcomes, SMILE also contributes to long-term transformation by embedding resilience and creating shared value for partners.

• The organisation has a strong record of co-designing initiatives with the private sector, aligning with ESG and CSR priorities. A major example is the co-financing of a new 26-bed maternity ward at Kamanga Health Centre, supported by Capital Drilling and VivCourt with an investment of USD $115,000. This facility will improve dignity, safety, and access to maternal care, while expanding the SMILE program. A further opportunity exists for partnership on Phase 2 – a maternity operating theatre to manage obstetric emergencies, for which designs and permits are ready. This expansion is essential for managing obstetric emergencies, including caesarean sections and deliveries involving high-risk pregnancies.

• All our partnerships are built on transparency, ESG-aligned reporting, and visible community impact. All our programmes, including SMILE, Kilimo Mushroom Farming and Threads of Dignity, are designed to be modular, evidence-based and scalable.

Community-driven initiative designed to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes in Nyamatongo Ward.

SMILE brings midwifery care directly to mothers’ doorsteps, ensuring no woman is left behind in her most vulnerable moments.

Every baby deserves a healthy start. And every smile we protect is a reminder of what’s possible when development is done with dignity.