Mwanza Community Wound Care Project

[Letter of Intent] Mwanza Community Wound Care Program

In Mwanza, Tanzania and throughout East Africa wound care and infection are largely
overlooked health issues. Two organizations engaging with this issue are Mission: Restore and
Tanzania Rural Health Movement. Together, we are piloting the Mwanza Community Wound
Care Program, a vital initiative we invite partners/funders to support.

The Problem: Medical care is inaccessible for many living in rural and sub-urban areas of
Tanzania, namely those living in poverty outside of the cities. Specifically in Mwanza, on the
coast of Lake Victoria, many travel hours or days by bus, van, motorcycle and even boat to get
to the hospital.

For patients who are able to overcome the challenge of transportation, they are met with
under-resourced hospitals inundated with patients. Tanzania has a 1: 50,000 doctor patient
ratio, one of the most severe doctor patient ratios globally – meaning long wait times in
hospitals that only contribute to a patients risk of infection.

Once they arrive, their treatment may require multiple follow up visits. Those who receive
surgery often deplete their resources in order to get that procedure, leaving them incapable of
returning to the hospital for the vital follow-up care they need. This follow up care is
necessary to prevent or treat infection, which can lead to the failure of surgical procedures
and even death. This challenge of transportation, if undertaken, is expensive and takes many
from their jobs and responsibilities, a cost of time and money that can quickly devastate a
family – exasperating those who are already facing a health crisis.

The Solution: Nurses providing quality wound care treatment at the homes of patients via
motorcycle. For patients who are recovering from surgery, bedridden, suffering from wounds
such as those caused by diabetes, wound care is one of the most vital health needs they face.
To avoid the cost and physical risk of travelling to the hospital for follow up, patients can be
home with their families and be visited by kind, qualified nurses who champion their care,
follow up on their cases, and communicate with their doctors at the central hospital.

The Partners:
Mission: Restore is a global health non-profit that aims to increase the capacity of local
surgeons in developing countries. We specialize in reconstructive surgery and value operating
together for long-term impact through hands-on training, educational grants, and
telemedicine. At Mission: Restore we are creating a world in which local surgeons have the
knowledge, skills and support they need to treat debilitating injuries and birth defects in their
own communities around the world.

Tanzania Rural Health Movement is a non-profit community based organization in Mwanza,
Tanzania. Our broad objective is to spread health information to rural communities with the

Mission: Restore is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization, Federal Tax ID #27-1036947
120 E. 87th Street, Suite P4B, New York, New York 10128 Phone: 855 777-1350
[email protected], www.missionrestore.org

aim of promoting good health through medical services and medical research. Some of our
programs include, a Wound Care Clinic for street children, an income generating stitching
project, and a Community First Responders Project where motorcycle taxi drivers are trained
to provide emergency medical care and transportation to hospitals.

Program Activities:
The Mwanza Community Wound Care Program will consist of staff trainings on wound care
and post-operative care 1 – 2 times per year, a campaign to spread awareness of the service,
as well as ongoing contact with patients post-surgery regarding their post-operative needs as
well as contact with community health care workers on patients who are bedridden that they
may identify. Finally, the main activity of the Mwanza Community Wound Care Program will
be the consistent deployment of nurses into the rural and sub-urban communities in the
Mwanza region to provide wound and post-operative care services.

The Mwanza Community Wound Care Program will be piloted in the spring of 2017. This
Post-pilot the program will be evaluated and readied for full and sustainable implementation.
Service will be provided to patients at a reasonable cost. These funds will go toward
motorcycle gas and maintenance, as well as medical supplies, and other programmatic costs
such as staff overhead for monitoring and evaluation as well as program management that
may not be covered by external support.

Program Costs:
We invite partners/funders to support this program through a donation of £10,000 to launch
this program after it’s initial pilot. This support would fund: Nurses’ stipend or salary, medical
supplies, awareness raising efforts, training for nursing and other program staff, and funds to
provide subsidized wound care to patients in need.

We anticipate your response to our enquiry, and look forward to answering any additional
questions. We believe that any support can make a large impact. With our pooled expertise
and resources, Mission: Restore and Tanzania Rural Health Movement are ready to bring
wound care to patients homes – we hope partners/funders will join us in this vital initiative.

With Gratitude,

___________________________________ ___________________________________
Dr. Marko Hingi Kate McAuliff
Founder & Executive Director Program Manager
Tanzania Rural Health Movement Mission: Restore

Mission: Restore is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization, Federal Tax ID #27-1036947
120 E. 87th Street, Suite P4B, New York, New York 10128 Phone: 855 777-1350
[email protected], www.missionrestore.org