Context
Huruma Hospital in Rombo District is one of the referral hospitals in the Kilimanjaro region. Considered one of the poorest in terms of access to health care, this region serves a very low-income and isolated population of more than 330,000 people through its four health centers and 43 dispensaries.
The need to improve specialized services was stated, as Huruma Hospital remains a focal point in terms of access to health care service.

Strengthening maternal health care
In the region, infant mortality is high, with 398 deaths/100,000 births. Several of the departments of the hospital have not been the subject of any improvement since the opening in 1968. This is the case of the maternity ward which has 43 beds and where 2500 give birth annually. Premises are unwelcoming and many pieces of equipment are obsolete, hampering the ability of midwives and nurses to provide or improve maternal, child and reproductive health care.

In addition, the significant increase in the number of hospital patients caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is weakening the environment in which women give birth, putting them at even greater risk. It is therefore both to improve the care offered in the maternity ward while ensuring better protection against COVID-19 that TSF and the Roncalli International Foundation have launched a project, from which 2,500 women benefit each year.

The main objectives were:
1. Rehabilitate the building housing the hospital maternity ward; 2. Equip the maternity ward with birthing beds, incubator, fetal monitor, wheelchairs and stretchers;
3. Protect staff and women giving birth from COVID-19 by providing adequate equipment, training medical staff in prevention measures and raising awareness among hospital patients

Reinforcement of visual care
The eye care department is confined to a small room within the hospital grounds and barely holds more than a reading chart to perform eye exams. Not all services can be offered due to lack of eye department buildings and modern equipment. To ensure this, TSF and the International Roncalli Foundation support the project to improve the hospital’s vision health services, so as to provide a comprehensive eye care service to the entire community around it.

The project, which is divided into two parts, consists in rehabilitating an old fairly spacious building within the hospital, in order to make it a renovated, enlarged and well-equipped ophthalmological clinic with more space, sufficient equipment and a greater number of of qualified personnel.

The project therefore targets the following main objectives:
– Improving the capacity of Huruma Hospital to provide visual health services and care to the population of the region;
– Improving the capacities of local visual health professionals;
– Raising awareness of the importance of vision screening.