FAME Outpatient Clinic
The Foundation for African Medicine & Education, working in partnership with FAME in Tanzania, began construction of FAME Medical in October of 2007. The FAME Medical Outpatient Clinic was opened in April of 2008 and represents the first step towards a much larger medical facility. The Clinic is located in the District of Karatu, a rural District located in the Northern Highlands of Tanzania.
Since opening the Outpatient Clinic, significant progress has been made towards meeting FAME’s goal of serving the local Karatu population AND reaching out to the larger, undeserved population of Northern Tanzania. In 2010 alone, nearly 8000 patients, from 100 different tribes, were treated at our Clinic. This represents a 38% increase in patients overall in just one year’s time. The dramatic and sustained increase in patients from the neighboring district of Ngorongoro, who are predominantly Maasai, points to success in our outreach efforts. This patient population has increased ten-fold over a period of only two years.
The most common diseases our doctors treat include intestinal parasites and water borne diseases, acute respiratory infections, malaria, brucellosis, UTI’s and STD’s. Our team also cares for patients suffering from burns, wounds and injuries.
While all very treatable, staggering numbers of children die every year simply because they are not able to access quality medical care in the most rural parts of the country.
Through a graduated fee structure and elective services, FAME endeavors to provide poor families with the same access to medical treatment as those with greater resources. The costs for reduced rate or free treatment are subsidized by a combination of donations, grants, and higher fees for patients from certain categories (e.g., insured Tanzanians, expatriates living in Tanzania, and tourists). In 2010 patient contributions (fees for service) financed 43% of Clinic operating expenses, with donor support subsidizing 57% of operating costs.
To illustrate how far the dollar goes in providing medical care in Tanzania, $2000 would cover FAME’s total costs (salaries, labs, and medicine) to treat 550 children suffering from intestinal worms. The same amount can treat 88 children diagnosed with pneumonia.
