Bright International

Tanzania Partnership

Since 1999, Northumbria has worked in partnership with Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), a large referral hospital in Tanzania, to collaborate on health projects.

The partnership was formed following an initial visit from Professor Richard Walker with colleagues, seeing the potential for collaboration to improve global health and develop shared learning opportunities.

In 2000 the management and development of the partnership was taken forward by Northumbria’s Bright Charity and between 2001-2005, British Council funding enabled us to support training in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, tissue viability (wound management) and clinical coding.

Following the success of these first projects, a formal partnership was established between our organisations and together, we’ve achieved several objectives including developing ultrasound, anti-microbial stewardship, laparoscopic surgery, burns care and stoma care services.

Projects are led by NHS staff, who volunteer their time to travel to Tanzania, and their professional counterparts at KCMC. They are founded on sustainability, providing mutual learning experiences for healthcare workers, and put patients at the heart.

In 2024, the trust will celebrate its silver anniversary of 25 years of partnership.