Sumbawanga/Tanzania: medical teams are providing new quality of life

Information from the Munich section of Interplast Germany e.V.

In the Rugwa region within a radius of 600 km around Sumbawanga there is only one specialist for surgery. Other disciplines are not available. We have therefore decided to provide specialists in plastic surgery (severe burn contractures and oral and maxillofacial deformities), visceral surgery (thyroid diseases, inguinal hernia), orthopaedics (club feet, bone fractures, periostitis), physiotherapy, orthopaedic technology, gynaecology and obstetrics as part of the missions. 

Medical care in Tanzania has got worse rather than better in recent years. In 1994, there were 23 specialists (doctors and nursing staff) for 10,000 people; in 2012, there were still six. This is an unsatisfactory situation. We have decided to support the project in Sumbawanga on a permanent basis.

Our local contacts, Superior Sr. Yasinta Rugabadi, Dr. Kenneth Yona, Dr. Elizeo Kibuga, Dr. Yusuf Mahaga and Geofry Ndunguru are preparing the missions. We are in daily contact. Our contacts have set up a registration office for patients. A preselection is made from this. This leads to an average of 250 patients patiently waiting for us when we arrive. Often all the money is spent to get to Sumbawanga. The clinic and team members support the patients who have no money for the return journey. It is usually the case that the patient would have to pay 450 US $ for an operation. We perform the operations free of charge. 

Since 2010, we have successfully operated on 6.225 patients in 35 missions. The teams consist of a strong, experienced core team, supplemented by younger specialists. In and around Dresden, we now have a pool of 40 active friends who actively and passively support us. A further 15 members from North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Hamburg and St. Gallen/Switzerland have joined us. Everyone takes leave for the mission and works on a voluntary and unpaid basis, never less than 14 hours a day.

The clinic's material resources are very modest. Children under the age of 5, adults over the age of 60, pregnant women and HIV-positive people are treated free of charge. This is at the expense of the overall budget. In terms of our work, this means that we would use around 80% of the hospital's annual requirements for 140 to 180 operations per mission. With this in mind, we repeatedly collect materials in Germany and bring them to Tanzania or procure them directly on site. Without these donations, the operations would not be possible.