Andreas Mauer , M.D.- Bugando Medical Center Volunteer

I had the privilege to work at Bugando Medical Center as a visiting physician during my 3^rd year of medical residency during the summer of 2007. The experience was among the most meaningful of my life.

The most immediate reason for this significance was the obvious need. The simplest way to describe the enormous need for Tanzanian doctors is this: there were more internists-in-training at my hospital in New York City than in the entire city of Mwanza. In fact, there were more pediatricians at my hospital than the entire nation of Tanzania! Given that infectious diseases like HIV and Tuberculosis are epidemic in the developing world (about the same proportion of Tanzanians have HIV as Americans with high blood pressure), that Tanzanians suffer from diseases like Malaria that most Americans will never even think about, and that Western illnesses like diabetes and heart disease are on the rise there, this lack of doctors is even more devastating than one might fear.

Yet, though they had few resources – inconsistent access to laboratory and imaging tests, power outages, and overcrowded wards with some patients sleeping two to a bed – the determination and idealism of the Tanzanian doctors and medical students was never less than inspiring. All expressed, consistently and generously, a desire to improve quality of and access to healthcare in Tanzania. Above all, it was their courage that made my time in Mwanza a life-changing experience.

I taught (and learned from!) many students, assistant medical officers, and junior doctors at Bugando. Together, we treated many patients. One patient in particular stands out: S., a young boy. At Bugando, the shortage of pediatricians meant that children above the age of twelve were admitted to adult wards. When I first saw S., my first thought was that he couldn’t be over the age of 8. An AIDS orphan, raised by his brother, his growth had been stunted by years of chronic illness. He came to Bugando with meningitis, a severe infection of the membranes of the spinal cord. He was feverish and unconscious but still screaming in pain. Together, the Bugando doctors and I performed a spinal tap, analyzed his spinal fluid, and instituted treatment. A week later, S. walked out of the hospital. Shortly thereafter, he attended Bugando’s well-run outpatient HIV clinic to receive the antivirals that I hope will help to keep him healthy for many years. This story has stayed with me because I think that, prior to the Touch Foundation’s involvement with Bugando, I think it is probable that S. would have died. Without the exchange of learning between American and Tanzanian doctors and students that Touch has made possible, there might not have been a doctor to see S. Without Touch’s infrastructure support, vital laboratory tests and antibiotics might not have been available. So while my time in Mwanza was immensely gratifying on a personal level, it was only possible thanks the incredible persistence and dedication of Bugando’s physicians and the support of the Touch Foundation.

In short, something exciting is happening at Bugando. Something that will have, and has had, a real and major impact on the lives of Tanzanians. I can’t wait to go back.

About the Author:
Andreas Mauer earned his M.D. from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in 2001. He completed residency in Internal Medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell Medical Center and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Clinical Investigation at the Rockefeller University.