January 18th 2018 was a very special day for Kamanga Health Centre and the whole Nyamatongo Ward. Two years ago the Regional Commissioner Mr. Mongella together with the Country Director and Founder of Cedar Tanzania, Mark O’Sullivan, stood shoulder to shoulder with Chris Eskdale, Friends of Cedar Tanzania board member, and declared Kamanga Health Centre ‘Open!’ The health centre soon after began serving the community of Nyamatongo Ward, with an approximate population of 30,000 people.
In the last two years Kamanga Health Centre has experienced many joys, such as the acquisition of the neonatal resuscitation table which was purchased with donations from Cedar Tanzania supporters, the installation of solar power panels, and the establishing of Kamanga Health Centre as a volunteer destination for European medical staff. Paulina Urassa, the Director of Health Programmes is still at the helm, and the biggest challenge she faces is working within the line of the private-public partnership between Kamanga Health Centre and Sengerema District Council. But in spite of this challenge the figures coming from Kamanga Health Centre over the last two years are encouraging indeed. By the end of 2018, 4,607 new patients had registered at the health centre for the first time and exactly one year later in 2019, 6,546 new patients had joined the health centre. This was an increase of 142%. By the end of 2018, 201 babies were born at the health centre and by December 2019 517 babies were born resulting in an increase of 257% of births in the last two years. The top three diagnosed illnesses changed slightly from upper respiratory infections, UTIs and non severe pneumonia in 2018 to non severe pneumonia, UTIs and a surprising increase in severe cases of malaria in 2019. The reduction of governmental disinfection of high mosquito populated agricultural lands has been suspected to be the reason for such a high rise in figures of severe malaria cases in 2019.
Cedar Tanzania is proud to say that two years on Kamanga Health Centre is still striving to bring high levels of heath care to the villages in Nyamatongo Ward.