Tanzanian Health Care Gets Boost from AKU’s New Nursing/Midwifery Training Facility

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.

Dr. Gerd Müller, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development and Mr. AlKarim Haji, AKU Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer unveiling the plaque to mark the official opening of the Aga Khan University Salama house

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.