Building cardiac services in Tanzania

Tanzania has a burgeoning population of over 55 million people and despite enormous need, cardiac surgery is very limited.

Twice a year, we send a handpicked team of Australian medical professionals to Dar es Salaam, an important port and the largest city in Tanzania. Our team arrive at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute, a dedicated, not-for-profit cardiac facility, where they work alongside the local medical team to perform world-class surgery.

Together, with great skill and dedication, they transform the lives of dozens of adults and children. Patients come from far and wide for treatment. Many parents and children have travelled by bus, sometimes for days.

Many patients are desperately sick, presenting with complex pathology and advanced disease. The case load in Tanzania is a variety of congenital heart disease, rheumatic and valvular disease, along with increasing numbers of coronary (ischaemic) heart disease.

While some cardiac surgery can be performed independently in Tanzania, we help train the local team so that more complex surgery can be done. Cardiac services throughout East Africa are struggling for self-sufficiency, leaving Tanzania the main cardiac centre for a region of over 400 million people. This is reflected in a surging wait list, currently in the thousands, that will see many die while waiting for surgery.

Given the volume of need, our focus is to support service development, independence and sustainability. With careful patient selection and intensive on-the-job training, we can pass on skills to the local team which will help them time and time again.

While we save many lives during our visits, just as importantly, we enable many more lives to be saved long after we have left. With your help, we can continue to build an independent cardiac service for the people of East Africa.