BSF Helps Brings Lifesaving Surgery and Know-how to Tanzania

By Tammy Gilson

Restricted access to primary care is an overwhelming burden for a developing country such as Tanzania, Africa. Consider then the challenge of providing treatment for patients requiring the specialized care of a neurosurgeon. Tanzania has just three neurosurgeons; a ratio of one per 12.9 million people. The World Health Organization recommends one neurosurgeon for every 100,000 people in order to provide an adequate level of treatment. Compounding this scarcity is the need for better medical facilities and the equipment to ensure safe outcomes and post-operative care. Consequently, Tanzania has a large population of people, particularly children, who suffer from severe congenital deformities and treatable neurological diseases/conditions, such as hydrocephalus and brain tumors.
In October, BSF Co-founder Kathy Haley joined BWH neurosurgeons, trainees, nurses and Daniel Ponton on a trip to Tanzania, where the surgical teams performed neurosurgery at several regional hospitals: Haydom Lutheran Hospital in Haydom, Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute in Dar Es Salaam, and Bugando Medical Centre in Mwanza. Funded by the generous support of the Daniel E. Ponton Fund for the Neurosciences at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and arranged through non-profit Madaktari Africa, the mission’s goal was also to provide hands-on training to local surgeons in an effort to empower them with expertise in neurosurgical procedures.
“This mission was an incredible journey, revealing the challenges, beyond economics, that impact every aspect of providing neurosurgical care,” said Kathy Haley. “My interaction with patients and local surgeons was transformational, as my desire to ‘participate’ quickly became a feeling of commitment to do whatever was needed each day to support the BWH surgeons who worked tirelessly to help as many patients as possible, and to care for those patients - many of whom had overcome significant hurdles just to get to the clinics. Whether it is sitting with the mothers of children in surgery or helping the nurses care for the postoperative patients, the work to be done is very tangible, and you quickly identify the realizable and practical projects that will make a difference in the care of these patients.”
Founded by Dilan Ellegala, MD, Madaktari works to end neurosurgical dependency on foreign surgeons through the establishment of sustainable educational programs that provide local institutions with the volunteers, equipment, and training necessary to address the neurosurgical population. This trip was the second for Dr. Golby, who has become integral in helping Madaktari to implement the processes and infrastructure necessary for the program to significantly impact patient care in Tanzania as well as other countries in the future. “I am so glad to be part of the Madaktari physician training program”, said BWH neurosurgeon, Alexandra Golby, MD. “This model is innovative and promises to be effective in building neurosurgical capacity in Tanzania by teaching critical neurosurgical skills including operative skills, imaging, and patients evaluation and follow up, as well as critical care principles.”