Madunda Hospital
Mission hospital with 36 beds and a large outpatient department – the association’s first project in Africa.
- Beds
- 36
- Births per month
- 30
- to the nearest town
- 111 km
- Altitude
- 1,800 m
This first help to help project on the African continent came about through the humanitarian work of one of our members with the Senior Experten Service. The village and hospital are located in Tanzania near Lake Malawi, at an altitude of around 1,800 m in the Southern Highlands.
Madunda is a small village with only a few houses. The nearest larger town is Njombe, just under 111 kilometres away – the coldest town in Tanzania, with around 150,000 inhabitants. The nearest airport is in Mbeya, another 171 km or so from Njombe.
What the hospital does
The hospital has 36 beds and a large outpatient department. Every day it treats cases of typhoid, amoebic dysentery, syphilis, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, pneumonia, malaria, skin diseases and malnutrition. On top of that, there are around 30 births a month.
The government provides vaccinations as well as TB and HIV medication and also strictly monitors correct treatment. Births are free of charge; otherwise patients pay 50 cents per treatment or hospital admission, plus any other medication. Some cannot even afford that and first have to borrow the money.
Who works there
The staff consists of a medical officer, a nun with medical training, nine nurses with varying levels of training and three men who carry out the laboratory tests and are also responsible for water, electricity and everything else. Apart from the doctor, nobody speaks English.
Electricity and water are not always available. The satellite for communication runs on solar power, which works more or less well during the rainy season.
Patients have often walked for days and nights along narrow, steep paths, with toddlers on their backs, older children by the hand and their belongings on their heads. They have to stay in hospital until a course of injections is complete – they simply live too far away.
Support this project
For an earmarked donation, simply put the keyword “Madunda Hospital” in the payment reference – your donation will then go exactly here.
