FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Portland, OR, 30 August 2019—Medical Teams International extends its gratitude to the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) for the generous contribution of $2.9 million USD to improve health by supporting and equipping healthcare services to provide timely, appropriate, and comprehensive care among refugees and host populations living in Tanzania.

Medical Teams International (Medical Teams) operates in the northwest region of Tanzania. The refugee camps of Mtendeli and Nyarugusu in Tanzania are in remote areas, making it difficult to maintain high quality health facilities and services. Most refugees are women and children, and without medical care, refugees die from preventable causes.

“The refugee camps we serve experience more than 500 easily preventable deaths per year, with malaria and neonatal complications being the leading challenges to the health of the refugee populations we serve,” said Michael Chapman, Director of Global Programs. “This funding will help Medical Teams better provide critical lifesaving healthcare and services.”

For more than two decades, the Tanzania Red Cross Society (TRCS) has provided curative and preventative health services to Burundian and Congolese refugees in northwest Tanzania. At the request of UNHCR and with the support of PRM, Medical Teams began operations in Tanzania in 2018 in partnership with TRCS to improve delivery of health services to refugees in Mtendeli and Nyarugusu refugee camps. Our partnership aims to improve refugee health by equipping and building service capacity at 11 health facilities in the two camps, as well as supporting 291 Community Health Workers, to provide timely, appropriate, and comprehensive care to refugees and the Tanzanian host community surrounding the camps.

Specifically, this significant grant will help our efforts toward reducing morbidity and mortality and improving outcomes in reproductive health, including emergency obstetric care. We have also initiated a program called Channels of Hope, which equips faith leaders to act as key influencers in their communities to improve health. Through this innovative program, we strive to improve the health of mothers and babies.

“We are thankful to PRM as this grant will provide desperately needed healthcare to both refugees and Tanzanian nationals. With this support, we will be able to serve over 200,000 people in Tanzania,” shared Roger Sandberg, Vice President Field Operations.

This funding prioritizes supplying medicines, medical consumables, key equipment, and the resources to support their use. It will ensure clinics are adequately staffed and provide training on key health issues like malaria management and safe blood transfusions.

 

For more information, please contact:

  • Lucas Machibya, Country Manager, Kibondo, TZ, +255 742 612111, [email protected]
  • Michael Chapman, Director, Global Programs, Field Operations, Portland, OR, +1 503 624 1025, [email protected]
  • Roger Sandberg, Vice President Field Operations, Portland, OR, +1 503 624 1030, [email protected]

 

About Medical Teams International

Founded in 1979, Medical Teams International provides life-saving medical care for people in crisis, around the world and in the United States. Daring to love like Jesus, we serve all people— regardless of religion, nationality, sex or race—because every person, no matter where they are or how desperate their situation, matters. A 501(c)(3) non-profit headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Medical Teams’ health programs operate at the intersection of communities and primary health care facilities, responding to both sudden onset and protracted complex emergencies in fragile contexts.

For more information on Medical Teams and its work in Tanzania, please visit: https://www.medicalteams.org/country/tanzania/