Boost for kidney treatment
TOKYO, Japan: TANZANIA has achieved another significant milestone in the healthcare sector with the announcement of plans to build a state-of- the- art kidney transplant centre and training facility at the Benjamin Mkapa Hospital (BMH) in Dodoma Region.
Upon its completion, the centre is poised to become the largest of its kind in the Sub-Saharan region, marking a major advancement in medical care and education for the area.
The government of Tanzania and Tokushukai, an organisation comprised of Japanese doctors who have long supported the improvement of healthcare services in the country signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the construction of the centre on Monday in Japan.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa during the Tanzania-Japan Business, Investment, and Tourism Forum in Osaka, Japan.
The centre will be built at the Benjamin Mkapa Hospital in Dodoma through a collaboration involving the Japanese medical organisation Tokushukai and the University of Dodoma (UDOM). The project is expected to cost over 28bn/- and is being provided as an unconditional grant.
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Benjamin Mkapa Hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Prof Abel Makubi said Tanzania has signed this agreement with Tokushukai, an organisation comprised of Japanese doctors who have long supported the improvement of healthcare services in Tanzania.
He said Tokushukai was among the first to assist in providing dialysis services at Benjamin Mkapa Hospital.
Prof Makubi said: “This MoU is aimed at establishing a centre of excellence for kidney transplantation within Tanzania and the wider Sub-Saharan region.”
He explained that the construction of the centre is expected to start later this year with services anticipated to begin within three years. The Tanzanian government has committed to supporting various aspects of the project to ensure its timely completion.
“We express our gratitude to the government of Japan through these stakeholders, and we thank President Samia Suluhu Hassan for creating an enabling environment that has allowed us to reach this agreement. This initiative will benefit not only Tanzanians but also patients across Africa by improving kidney care services,” Prof Makubi said.
In addition to serving as a treatment facility, the centre will provide specialised training for kidney transplantation and conduct research to prevent and reduce kidney-related diseases. Training programs will be conducted jointly by Benjamin Mkapa Hospital and the University of Dodoma.
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UDOM Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof Lugano Kusiluka said the agreement would strengthen kidney transplant services, which are already underway at Benjamin Mkapa Hospital through collaboration between hospital specialists and UDOM experts.
He also highlighted UDOM’s efforts to establish a biomedical engineering program to reduce costs related to medical equipment by enabling local production and maintenance.
“With this agreement, besides training specialists on kidney transplants, we will teach them how to manufacture and maintain medical equipment to avoid damage and reduce reliance on foreign experts,” Prof Kusiluka explained.
Furthermore, the centre is expected to serve as a regional hub for training medical professionals from across Africa in organ transplantation, with plans to expand into other organ transplants in the future.
Another agreement signed during the forum was between UDOM, Benjamin Mkapa Hospital and the Africa-Japan Economic and Development Cooperation Association (AFRECO). These are part of six agreements signed between the United Republic of Tanzania, the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and various Japanese organisations.
The forum brought together Tanzanian entrepreneurs and investors alongside their Japanese counterparts, as part of Tanzania’s participation in the World Expo Osaka 2025.
