Tanzania: heart surgery camp for children in Mwanza

Bugando Zonal Referral Hospital in Mwanza will hold a medical and surgical camp for children with heart conditions from 22 November to 6 December, its director general, Dr Alicia Massenga, announced, Daily News reports. The service is meant to bring care closer to residents of the Lake Victoria zone and neighbouring regions, sparing them the cost of a long journey.

Paediatric cardiac surgery remains rare in Tanzania and is practised in only a very small number of hospitals, forcing many families to travel long distances, with transport and accommodation costs that weigh on their economic activities. Dr Massenga stressed that the high cost of heart operations remains out of reach for some low-income households and called on organisations and individuals to contribute to the medical costs of young patients.

"I urge all stakeholders to join forces so that our children receive the care they need, recover and return to their families," she said. The camp adds to recent heart care initiatives in Tanzania, including the free care offered to athletes by the Tanzanian heart institute on 1 October.