By Alyssa Zamora
DGHI Communications Specialist
What do you like most about your job? I asked this very question to the Executive Director of the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre on Thursday night. His words surely resonated with me. He said, “I love having a dream and the opportunity to make it a reality.” (Video posted below.)
Can you imagine having one doctor for every 25,000 people? Those are the staggering odds in many resource-poor areas of the world. Ntabaye says it is even closer to one in 40,000 if you consider MD’s alone. It was his dream to address this issue in a very real way, and in 2010, the opportunity arose. KCMC, in partnership with DGHI, was awarded a $10 million grant from PEPFAR and NIH in October to take steps that significantly improve medical education in Tanzania. With 15 years of project management experience in the health sector before coming to KCMC, Ntabaye knew that this could be an invaluable investment in health care delivery, research, education and service in Tanzania and throughout Africa.
Brodhead and the delegation toured the new medical education building on Thursday where there is now a high-speed internet connection and classroom upgrades are soon to follow, including AV-equipped classrooms, a computer lab, medical education laboratory space and videoconferencing capabilities. Brodhead also heard updates from KCMC leadership and staff on the review of curriculum, library support, implementation of innovative learning and teaching methods, and faculty workshops.
The progress being made on the ground is in preparation for the incoming class of medical students this fall. As I mentioned earlier, the need for doctors is immense, but demand for them is beginning to catch up. The delegation learned that in the mid-1990’s, there were approximately 15 medical students admitted to KCMC each year. Today, that number tops 120, and the next class may surpass 140.
These enrollment numbers are promising, as is seeing firsthand the progress and construction at KCMC’s new medical education building. The idea that Tanzania could have many more trained doctors to deliver high-quality care to their community is a dream-turned-reality that I think we all welcome.
KCMC Provost Egbert Kessi said it slightly differently: “We are bridging the gaps between the have’s and have not’s and we are greatly privileged and honored to be the only institution in Tanzania to receive this funding. The best thing we can do is to make it a reality. We hope to see this through to the end, to success. With this partnership, history becomes more complete.”
Learn more about the MEPI initiative in the short video below with Dr. Ntabaye.
