Tanzania

AmeriCares began providing aid to Tanzania in 1990 through Bugando Medical Center, an 870-bed teaching hospital in Mwanza staffed by doctors from Tanzania, the U.S. and Europe. During the first stages of the Rwandan refugee crisis in 1994, AmeriCares airlifted relief supplies to the Benaco refugee camp near Ngara, Tanzania. AmeriCares donations were also vital in the treatment of Rwandan refugees in the Mwanza area. In 1997, AmeriCares sent shipments of relief supplies to treat the victims of a disastrous ferry accident on Lake Victoria. Bugando Medical Centre currently receives several shipments per year from AmeriCares.

Bugando Medical Centre serves an estimated 8 million people in the six lake provinces of Kgoma, Kagera, Mara, Shinyaga, Tapora and Mwanza; in fact, the hospital serves nearly one third of the country's population, which is densely clustered around Lake Victoria. Thirty thousand inpatients and 50,000 outpatients receive care annually. Malaria is the first cause for inpatient and outpatient consultations, with tuberculosis, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS close behind. AmeriCares provides Bugando Medical Centre with essential medicines and hospital supplies such as antibiotics, IV solutions and tubing, pain relievers, antifungals, injectable anesthetics, and hygiene products. Bugando Medical Centre specializes in OB/GYN care, and also offers cardiology, radiology, tuberculosis, sickle cell anemia, and pre- and post-natal services.