Celebrating our sensory screening project in partnership with the CareTech Foundation
14 October 2025
Our early identification and intervention programme in Tanzania, working in partnership with the CareTech Foundation to support children with deafblindness, has seen an incredible impact in local communities since 2022.
Over the course of three years, the project aimed to provide sight and hearing screening to 86,000 infants in Dar-Es-Salaam, a city with high levels of poverty. Addressing a gap left by Tanzania’s healthcare system, which doesn’t routinely screen for sensory impairments, it has helped to establish a pathway for children with deafblindness to receive early intervention care, bringing hope to parents in desperate need of support.
Thanks to the partnership, 78 healthcare professionals are now trained to carry out screenings in 24 health centres and hospitals across Temeke district; four new early intervention therapy units have also been established, where children with deafblindness aged five and under will be supported to reach critical development milestones, like taking their first steps or saying their first words.
86,492 children have been screened for risk factors of deafblindness and complex disability, of which 383 have been enrolled in early intervention services. A further 1,000 children with sight or hearing impairments have been identified through the project and referred for crucial eye and hearing care services. By receiving the right support at this critical age, children are learning essential skills, like sitting up and vocalising, to develop independence – giving them the best chance of one day attending school.
A testament to the power of collaboration, the project has been life-changing for families of children with deafblindness like Samrani. With their baby missing key developmental milestones, Samrani’s parents were afraid for his future. However, through the screening project, he was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and connected with early intervention services. With the support of his occupational therapist and the training his parents have received through the programme, he is learning movement and communication skills and beginning to engage with the world around him.
Samrani’s mother shared: “I have learned so much, and I can see real changes in his abilities. I feel more hopeful and less afraid.”
The success of the project has demonstrated a clear need for these services, which provide hope to hundreds of families by connecting children with deafblindness with the support they need to thrive. Sense International plans to continue working with the Tanzanian government to create long-term change to the healthcare system, so that more children with deafblindness and complex disabilities can benefit from these critical services in future.
Kavita Prasad, CEO of Sense International, said: “We are grateful for the support of CareTech Foundation in enabling us to provide these essential screening and early intervention services. Children with deafblindness often miss out on support in their early years to help them communicate, move around and build independence. With transformational partnerships like these, we can work together to ensure they get the best start in life and can achieve their full potential.”
Tariq Raja, Executive Director of the CareTech Foundation, said: ”We consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to fund this three-year screening programme as the initial funder to help provide essential services and support to so many families. The work of Sense International in Tanzania is crucial towards inspiring a generation of children who will become independent adults, contributing towards the national economy. No disability should hold someone back and we are delighted to have partnered with Sense International who hold this belief, as we do. These interventions will continue to make a positive impact for years to come”.
If you’d like to find out more about how you can make a difference for children with deafblindness and their families, visit our Trusts and Foundations page or get in contact with Rosalind.hodgson@sense.org.uk .
