Establishment of a ward for preterm babies (Kangaroo Mother Care)
Funding period 2018 - 2019 (completed)
Project partner
SolidarMed - Swiss non-profit organization for health in Africa. Tax exemption according to § 70 Abs. 1 lit. h StG and Art. 56 lit. g. DBG (Switzerland).
Form of organization: SolidarMed is an association under Swiss law. The aim of the association is the promotion of medical care in countries of the South.
Responsible for the project on site: Dr. med. Peter Hellmold
Local partners in Lugala, Malinyi District, Morogoro,Tanzania: Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Tanzania, Ulanga-Kilombero Diocese (ELCT-UKD) District Executive Director (DED)/District Medical Officer (DMO) Malinyi District.
Project Description
During the 2018/2019 grant period, Brockmeyer Foundation supported the following activities:
- Remodeling of existing rooms at Lugala Hospital for the establishment of a ward for mothers and newborns: the new ward consists of a room with four beds for mothers, an area for the examination of newborns and mothers, an area for the care of newborns, such as changing diapers, a room with toilets and showers.
- Procurement of equipment: 4 suction machines, 1 CPAP machine (Continuos Positive Airway Pressure Machine), scales, hospital beds.
- Training of obstetricians and nurses at Lugala Hospital in the care of newborns and preterm infants using the kangaroo method.
- Training of nursing assistants in the 12 village health posts in the care of newborns and preterm infants and the kangaroo method.
- Scientific monitoring and evaluation of the project success according to the guidelines from Tanzania and the World Health Organization (WHO).
*The Berlin Children's Advisory Board of the children's aid organization Children for a better World e.v. supported the project with 1000 Euro.
Image gallery
![Rohbau des Hauptgebäudes](rohbau.jpg)
This was the building shell before completion.
![Der Innenraum mit 4 Betten](vierbetten.jpg)
Here you can see the main room of the preterm infant ward with four beds after completion. In the middle left there are benches and a table for mothers and nursing staff. Behind this is the intensive care room.
![Eingangsbereich](eingang.jpg)
This is the entrance area with a view into the corridor. The murals show mothers keeping their preterm babies warm through direct physical contact. All the painted images in this documentary are by a local artist named Azisi Mpoyoka.
![Frau mit Neugeborenem](baby1.jpg)
Baby Kabisi was born much too early. It weighed only 1.3 kilos. Also thanks to the kangaroo method, two months later Kabisi already weighed 2.5 kilos.
![Beatmetes Baby](baby2.jpg)
A little boy who does not have a name yet. But he already needed intensive care. Thanks to the neonatal intensive care unit and ventilation with the help of the CPAP machine, he was able to survive.
![Absauggerät](geraet1.jpg)
This picture shows one of the four suction units. Two of them were placed in the preterm baby ward and one in the intensive care room.
![Sauerstoffgerät](geraet2.jpg)
An oxygen concentrator was also purchased for the intensive care room. This is a device that can generate oxygen from the room air.
![Beatmungsgerät](geraet3.jpg)
The "Pumani" is a respirator (a so-called CPAP device) developed at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi. The CPAP machine supports the breathing of preterm babies whose lungs are not yet mature. Breathing problems are a common cause of death in preterm and newborn infants.