Aga Khan University opened the new home of its School of Nursing and Midwifery in Dar es Salaam
today at Salama House. This state-of-the-art facility will educate nursing and midwifery leaders dedicated
to saving lives and improving health care for the people of Tanzania. Since 2004, AKU has graduated
more than 2,100 nurses in East Africa of which 600 are in Tanzania. Notable alumni of AKU include
the country’s top nursing official – the Director of the Division of Nursing and Midwifery Services in the
Ministry of Health – and the Chair of the Tanzania Nursing and Midwifery Council.
The €1.2 million (TSh 2.95 billion) Salama House project was funded as part of a €17.2 million (TSh 42
billion) grant to AKU from the Federal Republic of Germany to improve health in East Africa by
providing nurses and midwives with high-quality education and training.
In addition to funding the
renovation and expansion of Salama House, the grant includes funding to enable more students to attend
AKU and has helped the University to develop the curriculum for its planned post-RM Bachelor of
Science in Midwifery. The East African Community played an important role in making it possible for
AKU to receive the funding.
The opening was presided over by Dr. Gerd Müller, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation
and Development; Dr. Helmut Schön, KfW Country Director for Tanzania; Dr. Richard Sezibera,
Secretary General of the East African Community; Dr. Hamisi Kigwangalla, Tanzanian Deputy Minister
of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly, and Children representing Minister Ms. Ummy
Ally Mwalimu; and Mr. Al-Karim Haji, AKU Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer.
“Despite all efforts maternal and newborn mortality are still unacceptably high in East Africa. Reducing
them requires well-functioning health systems, including a skilled workforce. I am glad we found such
able partners in the Aga Khan University and the EAC who will help achieve Sustainable Development
Goal No. 3 – “Good health and wellbeing for all” – for all citizens of the East African Community and of
Tanzania in particular,” stated Dr. Gerd Müller, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and
Development.
Dr. Richard Sezibera, Secretary General of the East African Community addressing the invited guests during the official opening of the Aga Khan University Salama house |
“Tanzania has a fraction of the highly skilled nurses and midwives it needs. More modern facilities for
nursing and midwifery education are needed,” said Mr. Al-Karim Haji, AKU Vice President, Finance and
Chief Financial Officer. “With the opening of the new home of our School of Nursing and Midwifery, we
are helping to change that. The partnership between AKU, the Federal Republic of Germany and the East
African Community, plus the support of the Republic of Tanzania, will give more nurses and midwives
an opportunity to improve their clinical and leadership capacities.”
“Aga Khan University is playing a leading role in the EAC’s effort to harmonize and modernize nursing
curricula and standards across member states,” said Dr. Richard Sezibera, Secretary General of the East
African Community. “This facility is another example of AKU’s longstanding commitment to educating
much-needed nurses and midwives to improve the quality of health care for East Africans, and of the Aga
Khan Development Network’s broader contribution to improving the lives of East Africans.”
Hon. Dr. Hamisi Kigwangalla, Deputy Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly, and Children during his speech at the official open of the Salama house at the Aga Khan University |
“The opening of this facility is a significant event in the development of nursing and midwifery in
Tanzania,” said Hon. Dr. Hamisi Kigwangalla, Deputy Minister of Health, Community Development,
Gender, Elderly, and Children on behalf of Ms. Ummy Mwalimu, the Minister of Health, Community
Development, Gender, Elderly, and Children. “It will help Tanzania educate the kinds of nurses and
midwives we need: those who can tackle complex problems and ensure that all Tanzanians get the health
care they deserve. Aga Khan University, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the East African
Community have our appreciation.”
AKU’s School of Nursing and Midwifery’s new home at Salama House on Urambo Street includes the
resources needed to educate nursing and midwifery leaders using the latest methods: a library with new
digital resources, a computer lab, modern classrooms, and a high-quality science lab and skills lab.
In addition to enhancing the quality of the School’s existing nursing programmes, additional space has
been added that will allow AKU to launch a new post-RM Bachelor of Science in Midwifery programme
and to train more working nurses through its professional development programmes.
About AKU’s School of Nursing and Midwifery and Aga Khan Development Network
In Tanzania, AKU trains educators, specialist doctors, nurses and midwives. AKU has educated more
than 600 nurses, including 311 who hold a Post-RN Bachelor of Science in Nursing; a degree that
prepares graduates for leadership and that is held by relatively few Tanzanians. Its alumni include the
country’s top nursing official – the Director of the Division of Nursing and Midwifery Services in the
Ministry of Health – and the Chair of the Tanzania Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Aga Khan University is a not-for-profit institution that serves Tanzanians without regard to race, gender,
or religion. All of its nursing students in Dar es Salaam are Tanzanian and 80 percent come from publicsector
institutions. As a nonprofit organization, it strives to make its programmes affordable and
accessible. On average, nursing students pay just one-fifth of what it costs the University to educate them.
To date, the University has invested US$ 60 million in Tanzania, with significant additional investment
planned.
AKU is a university of and for the developing world, focused on preparing men and women to improve
the quality of life in their societies. Its work reflects the vision and continuing generosity of its founder
and Chancellor, His Highness the Aga Khan. The University is part of the Aga Khan Development
Network (AKDN), whose presence in Tanzania dates back to the establishment of the first Aga Khan
Girls School in 1905. AKDN has been contributing to the health of Tanzanians for over 85 years.
In 2015,
AKDN’s health services treated more than 430,000 inpatients and outpatients across Tanzania.
AKDN is a private, international, non-denominational development organisation. It employs over 80,000
people in over 30 countries. Its agencies address complex development issues, including the provision of
quality health care and education services, cultural and economic revitalisation, micro-enterprise,
entrepreneurship and economic development, the advancement of civil society, and the protection of the
environment.
About the East African Community
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of 5 Partner States: the
Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, the United Republic of Tanzania, and the Republic of Uganda,
with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The work of the EAC is guided by its Treaty which established the Community. It was signed on 30
November 1999 and entered into force on 7 July 2000 following its ratification by the original three
Partner States - Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The Republic of Rwanda and the Republic of Burundi
acceded to the EAC Treaty on 18 June 2007 and became full Members of the Community with effect
from 1 July 2007.