Our Work in Tanzania
With geographical barriers and limited medical professionals, families in northern Tanzania face challenges in accessing basic healthcare, let alone specialized cleft care. Through our partnership with Bugando Medical Centre, more families can now access year-round, Comprehensive Care.
Families participating in a workshop on cleft care.
Cleft Care in Tanzania Today
Tanzania has one of the lowest doctor-to-patient ratios worldwide, with just 1 doctor for every 20,000 people. This shortage particularly affects access to specialized care, such as treatment for conditions like cleft. Learn more in our podcast episode ‘Innovators in Action: Speech and Surgery Collaboration in Ethiopia and Tanzania’.
With the majority (63%) of Tanzania’s population living in rural areas, access to services is limited due to the sparse distribution of healthcare facilities.
Our work in Tanzania focuses on raising awareness about cleft conditions in the Lake Zone Region, to help affected children reach full rehabilitation.
Fast Facts
- Population: 56,497,000
- Capital: Dodoma
- Poverty Line: 26% of population
- Cleft Incidence: 2,950+ / year
Key Challenges
Community Engagement
Many families are unaware that cleft is a treatable condition. Clinicians dedicate significant effort to engaging communities and their leaders about cleft and its treatment.
Speech Therapy
There are less than 10 speech therapists in Tanzania. Our program aims to raise awareness among local governments and communities about the need for speech therapy.
Newborn Nutrition
34% of children in Tanzania face chronic malnutrition. Increasing community awareness of Bugando’s existing nutrition programs is helping to alleviate these challenges for children in districts around Mwanza.
Bugando at a Glance
Dedicated CCC professionals building Tanzania’s first CCC centre.
Square kilometres served by Bugando across its 4 regions: Kagera, Mwanza, Shinyanga, and Mara.
Community health leaders have received training on how to identify cleft lip and palate and support families.
“We, as current practitioners, have learned from the seniors, and must be able to come up with new information and build the capacity for the coming generation… I think we have a duty really to advance Comprehensive Cleft Care.”
- Dr. Francis Tegete, Plastic and reconstructive surgeon,
Bugando Medical Centre
Stories from Tanzania
Story originally featured in Transforming Cleft’s Annual Report released in May 2023. For the last 20 years, Transforming Cleft has partnered locally to deliver Comprehensive Cleft Care (CCC) in Eastern Myanmar, where many families rely on medical care based in Thailand. Throughout 2022 & 2023, the border between Myanmar and Thailand remained closed. The…
Naly was born with a cleft palate. His parents were acquainted with the challenges this poses for feeding and eventually for clear speech – a cousin was also affected by cleft years earlier. Like their relatives, they felt that they had nowhere to turn. When Naly was 18 months old, the family learned that a surgical…
Nurit was relieved when her daughter, 1.5 year old Gebrela, made it successfully through her third surgical treatment at CURE Ethiopia, Transforming Cleft’s local partner. The procedure was shorter and less intimidating than her daughter’s cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries. By nearly eliminating the chance of cleft-connected hearing loss, Nurit knew it was worth…
“It was like a cold bucket of water pouring over me…”. Rubí described the moment she learned her son Brian would be born with a cleft lip and palate. As the news doused her, her thoughts darted. Until then, Rubí and her husband Luis were focused on the jubilation of their first pregnancy. Cleft wasn’t…
Cristian’s first experiences with healthcare caused his family to feel fear and distrust. He was born in Bolivia with a cleft lip and palate. His parents, Teresa and Fabricio, were uncertain about the future. But one thing they did know – they would be along side their son every step of the way. In Bolivia,…
When Vasi and Atanas first met 1-year-old Hristo in an orphanage in Bulgaria, they felt an instant connection. Hristo had been given to the orphanage due to his cleft lip and palate. Three other families had considered adopting him, however, perceptions of the cleft journey ultimately changed minds. For Vasi and Atanas, Hristo would complete…
Our Partners in Cleft Care
TC has been supporting partners in Tanzania since 2024.
Our Partnerships in Tanzania
- Bugando Medical Centre, Mwanza
- Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT), Dar es Salaam