{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T12:03:45Z","timestamp":1784203425595,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784160000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Tanzania is currently advancing universal health coverage (UHC) through the 2026 launch of its Universal Health Insurance scheme, creating a critical policy window to strengthen primary health care (PHC). This paper reflects on the first Family Medicine Symposium in Morogoro (January 2026), a milestone event designed to advocate for the integration of Family Medicine (FM) into the national health system. Utilizing a deliberative dialogue approach, the symposium convened 51 diverse stakeholders\u2014including Tanzanian policymakers and academic partners from eight countries\u2014to examine FM through the \u201c5 Cs\u201d framework: first-contact access, continuity, comprehensiveness, coordination, and person-centered care. The event featured expert presentations, case vignettes, and facilitated discussions structured around the 5 Cs. In addition to the 5 Cs we also discussed training, financing, and workforce transitions. We describe a unique, multinational, multidisciplinary and informal academic partnership that drove this initiative. Rather than following rigid, highly resourced programmatic frameworks, this collaboration was relationship-driven, built on 3\u202fyears of trust-building and the contextual expertise of international partners with prior lived experience in Tanzania. While the absence of immediate formal policy commitments remains a limitation, the engagement established a vital transnational platform for collective advocacy. This paper highlights how informal, context-sensitive partnerships can align FM educational initiatives with health system needs to advance PHC transformation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1870267","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T11:10:16Z","timestamp":1784200216000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Introducing family medicine in Tanzania: strengthening primary health care through the 5 Cs\u2014advocacy through a deliberative dialogue symposium-a case study of multinational academic collaboration"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Donatus Rutajama","family":"Mutasingwa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto","place":["Toronto, ON, Canada"]},{"name":"Oak Valley Health","place":["Markham, ON, Canada"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nancy","family":"Matillya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, Aga Khan University","place":["Dar es Salaam, Tanzania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Enica","family":"Richard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS)","place":["Dar es Salaam, Tanzania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Matilda Alfred","family":"Mkonyi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS)","place":["Dar es Salaam, Tanzania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elichilia R.","family":"Shao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, KCMC University School of Medicine","place":["Moshi Urban, Tanzania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Burke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, KCMC University School of Medicine","place":["Moshi Urban, Tanzania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Henry","family":"Ziegler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Tanzania Foundation","place":["Dar es Salaam, Tanzania"]},{"name":"University of Washington School of Public Health","place":["Seattle, WA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Esther M.","family":"Johnston","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine & Community Health University of Minnesota","place":["Minneapolis, MN, United States"]},{"name":"The Global Engagement Network for Primary Health Care (GEN-PHC)","place":["Minneapolis, MN, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Klaus B.","family":"Von Pressentin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Family Medicine, Department of Family, Community and Emergency Care, University of Cape Town","place":["Cape Town, South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mugambi","family":"Joy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, Kabarak University Nakuru","place":["Nakuru, Kenya"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Innocent","family":"Besigye","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University","place":["Kampala, Uganda"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paschal","family":"Ruggajo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, Aga Khan University","place":["Dar es 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