VODACOM TANZANIA FOUNDATION GIVING PREMATURE BABIES A SHOT AT LIFE

It was just another morning late last year when a pregnant Mama Hadija (name changed to protect her privacy) who was a few weeks from her due date was going about her morning ablutions when she started to experience pains. Being a trained health care worker herself, she immediately suspected that something was seriously wrong. She was rushed to the local health center where the staff confirmed her self-diagnosis and she underwent an emergency C-section and delivered twins. One of the two babies did not survive the ordeal. For the other, being born weeks pre-mature, every single breath was a struggle for the baby’s under-developed lungs.

This unfortunate episode is just one of too many that happen in the country. Statistics show that each year, approximately 213,000 babies are born prematurely or with low birth weight, of whom more than 13,000 die due to complications arising from that prematurity.

This is a situation that the Vodacom Tanzania Foundation felt it could meaningfully address. Partnering with the Doris Mollel Foundation, Vodacom Tanzania Foundation has been making life saving equipment donations to various health centers and clinics across the country in Pwani, Tabora, Mwanza, Dodoma, Rufiji, Mbeya, Lindi and Kigoma regions. Late last year donations were made to Muriet Health Center in Arusha totalling TSh. 32 million; St. Mary’s Kibara Hospital in Mara with a value of TSh. 58 million and Mlele Health Center in Katavi of TSh. 50 million. The equipment donated included oxygen concentrators, baby warmers, feeding tubes, blankets, blood oxygen meters and other vital equipment needed to care for prematurely born babies.

Speaking about the Foundation’s role in supporting lives of premature babies, the Director, Rosalynn Mworia said, “We are glad to support maternal health care in the country because this is an area we feel is critical to survival of our nation. For over a decade, Vodacom Tanzania and Vodacom Tanzania Foundation have been keen to improve the health of Tanzanians by leveraging its mobile technology to address the most pressing matters in health issues in order to reduce maternal deaths.”

These interventions are not limited to the regions mentioned above but rather are nationwide and have been recognized as being of significant impact. Recently, the Foundation was acknowledged by the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Elderly and Gender for its equipment donations in partnership with the Tanzania Red Cross Society to the Dodoma Referral Hospital which included baby beds, warmers, photo therapy machines and others.

The effects of these interventions are measurable; In Sengerema and Shinyanga, for instance, Vodacom Tanzania Foundation programs have contributed to a decrease of 30% in mortality rates. Moreover, these initiatives also play a role in building health infrastructure where after the soon to be completed phase 1 activity, CCBRT Moyo Center will have the capacity to attend to more than 12,000 women.

Returning to Mama Hadija, her story has a bitter sweet ending. The loss of her new born baby is a wound the pain from which she still feels today and it can be heard in her voice as she fights though her tears to tell her story. She vividly remembers the days of anxiety and sleepless nights filled with worry and uncertainty. However, she stays strong and hopeful due to the survival of her other child. This child, a girl, became the first baby to make use of the incubators, oxygen concentrators and other equipment donated by Vodacom Tanzania Foundation to her local health center. Sharing her feelings about her experience she says, “I believe that even in the darkest of times, God has a plan. When I went to the center, I did not know that Vodacom had donated equipment there and yet my baby became the first in our district to be saved by their generosity. I urge other companies and individuals to consider making donations like Vodacom because you never know when you are being used as a vehicle to answer the prayers and dreams of others.”