THE CHALLENGE
Child and maternal complications remain major yet overlooked health challenges in Tanzania. Most of these tragedies are preventable, with better maternal care and neonatal support
Born Too Soon, Meant for More: The Doris Mollel Story
Born at just 900 grams, Doris Mollel defied the odds—a premature infant who survived when so many others in Tanzania do not. This early brush with mortality would become her calling.
Starting in 2012, Doris leveraged beauty pageant platforms—Miss Tabata, Miss Ilala, and ultimately Miss Tourism—not for glamour, but for impact. She launched “Tourism for Charity,” providing orphaned children with educational trips to Tanzania’s heritage sites, demonstrating early on her commitment to using visibility for social good.
But it was a visit to a neonatal intensive care unit that transformed her trajectory. Witnessing premature infants fighting for survival in under-resourced facilities, Doris found her mission: to ensure that babies like she once was would have a fighting chance.
In February 2015, she formalized her vision by founding the Doris Mollel Foundation (DMF). Working largely alone in those early days, Doris drafted proposals, lobbied tirelessly, and personally secured funding to purchase incubators and oxygen concentrators for hospitals lacking adequate neonatal care. Her persistence turned rejection into resources, and equipment into saved lives.
What began as one woman’s determination has evolved into a nationwide movement. Today, DMF partners with government and health institutions across Tanzania, advocating for policy reforms, improved hospital infrastructure, and public awareness on prematurity. Doris’s journey from premature infant to beauty queen to changemaker proves that personal experience, when channeled with purpose, can reshape a nation’s approach to maternal and neonatal health.
Vision
To advocate, educate, investigate, litigate, advance, and protect the rights of Tanzania’s preterm infants, girls, and women.
Mission
We envision a barrier-free, inclusive, diverse world that values each individual and their voice as well as preterm infants, girls, and women enjoy the power of equal rights and opportunities, dignity, choice, independence, and freedom from abuse, neglect, and discrimination.
Values
Empowerment, Respect, Inclusion, Commitment and Achievement.
The Doris Mollel Foundation Story
Founded with a mission to give every child a fighting chance, the Doris Mollel Foundation champions maternal and neonatal health across Africa. Our journey is one of hope, impact, and lasting transformation in communities that need it most.
The Beginning
Doris Mollel Foundation is established, beginning with neonatal equipment donations to Muhimbili National Hospital.
Advocacy for Prematurity
Advocacy intensifies, DMF works with the Ministry of Education to include prematurity in the national curriculum.
Insurance Inclusion
The Association of Tanzania Insurers includes preterm care in maternity packages.
Government Support
The National Health Insurance Fund follows, covering preterm costs. Government allocates $22 million for prematurity care.
Maternity Leave Reform
Maternity leave law amended. Mothers of premature babies now begin their leave after NICU discharge. Tanzania becomes the first African country with this legal protection.
Youth & Family Focus
DMF expands to adolescent sexual and reproductive health through the TanzAfya Project, reaching over 3,000 youth and launching the Tanzania Preterm Family Network.
A New Dawn for Mothers and Babies
History is made. After final debates and refinements, Parliament passes a groundbreaking law in early 2025 extending paid leave for parents of premature babies—making Tanzania the first country in Africa to offer such support. This historic achievement, born of a decade of unwavering advocacy and partnership, stands as a beacon of hope and proof that persistent efforts can rewrite the future for countless families.
A global recognition follows. Through tireless advocacy led by DMF and its partners, World Prematurity Day is officially incorporated into the World Health Organization (WHO) global calendar—an extraordinary milestone that elevates the cause of preterm babies to global attention and celebrates Tanzania’s leadership in prematurity advocacy.
At home, change takes physical form. Construction begins on the Kwimba Mother Newborn Care Unit, a state-of-the-art facility designed to provide specialized care for mothers and newborns in rural Tanzania. The unit stands as a living testament to what compassion, collaboration, and persistence can achieve—turning policy progress into lifesaving impact.
Building on this decade of progress, DMF now embarks on a new chapter: expanding its mission beyond newborn health to embrace broader maternal and child health across East Africa. This next phase focuses on reducing maternal deaths, improving child care access, and ensuring that no mother or child is left behind.
The Team Behind the Transformation
Our diverse team drives every change we make equipping hospitals with neonatal supplies, empowering healthcare workers, and building NICUs where they are needed most all to prevent maternal and newborn deaths and give every child a fighting chance from birth.
Dr. Robert Moshiro
Dr. Albert Chotta
Dr. Aleesha Adatia
Mr. Georgie Ndirangu
Dr. Mteule Nkomo
Deusdedith Edward Mulindwa
Dangio Kaniki
Dr. Bilkis Vissandjée
Veit Bergendahl
Marleen Vellekoop
Vicky Ntetema
Sizya Puya
Beatrice Mbawala
Fatuma Mhina
Shadida Dalanga
Mary Marwa
Halidi Mikidadi Yahaya
Dr. Sylvia Gaudence Ruambo
Rev. Paulo Ole Kurupashi
